Paradise Imperfect
by mandorac
Summary: Third part of the Sam's Escape/Sam & Quinn: Finding Enchantment series. Picks up 16 years into their marriage. AU setting.
1. Chapter 1

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

**A/N: Please see Sam's Escape and Sam and Quinn: Finding Enchantment for history/background. This is the third installment of the series.**

Quinn knelt on the carpet, trying to keep her crying quiet. Through her tears, she sought tiny shards of splintered glass amongst the snowflakes. On the base of the broken snow globe, she dropped each piece she found. The realization struck her then, every tiny fractured piece of glass represented all the tiny cracks in her bond with Sam. She twisted a knob and the tones of _A Whole New World_ began to play, then sputtered out to silence.

"Mom? You okay?" Joey said from the doorway of her bedroom.

She sniffed back the snot and wiped the tears away from her cheeks with the hand _not_ picking up broken glass. She cleared her throat and tossed a sad smile over her shoulder.

"Yeah, Joe, fine...thanks..."

Her oldest son, now 15, stood in the entry of her suite in all his goth glory, holding a book...dyed black shaggy hair with the first hints of blonde roots, pierced eyebrow, black eyeliner, black clothing. His blue eyes pierced her, so much like Sam. His little brother by less than a year, Jasper, appeared at his side, clutching his iPod with his earbuds dangling around his neck. Jasper stared at her, with the same hazel eyes she had been blessed with, until she smiled at him too.

"I'm okay, Jasp..." Jasper nodded to her, then looked down at his iPod.

The two boys were pushed aside by two identical 8-year-old girls, bursting into the room.

"What was all that noise, Mom?!" the one in pink shouted.

"Where's Dad? What happened?" the one in purple asked, assessing Quinn and the scene around her.

Quinn cleared her throat again. "Daddy left."

_xxxxx_

Sam slammed his truck into gear and tore down the driveway. He swerved onto the road, not even sure where he was going. Hot tears stung his eyes. He slammed the steering wheel more than once. He knew he had screwed up big time and hated himself for it.

"I'm done!" he yelled to no one. "I'm done with her! With Joey...with Jasper..." Each name he stated came out less a yell and more a cry for help. He pulled over on the shoulder and admitted defeat to himself. Hunched over the steering wheel, he grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and checked it. She hadn't called or texted him; he had expected a message from her. He punched some digits into his cell phone, asking if he could crash there for the night.

He drew his hand across his face, then ran his fingers through his hair. He pulled back onto the roadway and rolled down his window to let in the cold country night air. He reached a small home on the outskirts of Belle Meade and pulled into the driveway, behind a black minivan. The front door opened wide just as he stepped in front of it.

"Hey Katy..." he said.

"Well, y'all sure do look awful...get on in here..." The short brunette grabbed his elbow and pulled him into the home.

_xxxxx_

Quinn sat next to Jasper during his speech therapy appointment the next day. They had been coming to Adam for years now, recommended by Kourtney's husband. The therapist, Adam, had worked with Ryan's son, Tommy. Every week, though, it was the same thing...Jasper sitting there tapping his foot along to whatever music he was listening to on his iPod, nodding his head in rhythm. He was supposed to be working on bettering his expressive aphasia that he had been born with. For the last 13 years, Quinn had been coming faithfully, at least once a week, to get help for Jasper, even though the doctors said after a certain point they'd stop seeing any gains. When he was younger, she or Sam brought him in three times a week; as he got older, the therapy visits lessened as he had regained some of his speech. The problem they were having at this point was Jasper's unwillingness to use his speech in front of others; he had written down that it embarrassed the hell out of him, how he sounded. So, he tried to keep himself plugged into his iPod the majority of every treatment session until his mother took it away from him.

"How was school today, Jasper?" Adam asked him after Quinn pulled the iPod from his hands, the earbuds from his ears. She heard the strains of what sounded like country music blaring.

Jasper shrugged. When Quinn looked at him, it was like looking at the teenager Sam used to be, except Jasper liked to keep his hair short and spiky. She gave him the stink-eye since he didn't speak.

"It...was...o-kay..." he mumbled. His speech was slow and jumbled if he didn't think about the words he was trying to form. Sometimes, if he was in a hurry, he'd spit out a random word instead of the word he wanted to say.

Adam smiled at Jasper, then at Quinn.

"Anything good for lunch?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. To begin with, it was always the same easy questions. It frustrated him to no end...knowing what he wanted to say but his brain not being able to make himself speak the words.

"Uh...mac n...and..." He sighed. He sounded like an idiot to himself.

"Bacon," he blurted awkwardly.

Adam waited.

"No...cheese..." Jasper finished, correcting himself. He looked to his mom, eyeing the iPod. She shook her head _no_.

Adam asked Jasper questions about music, his obvious favorite thing in the world. He usually opened up more with this line of questioning.

"Downloaded anything new in the last week?" Adam asked him.

"Yeah...Toby...bee...and-and Ala-alabama. Keith," Jasper told him.

"Ah, Toby Keith _and_ Alabama? Two of my favorites!" Adam responded.

They continued their conversation, and Quinn's thoughts drifted to the night before.

_I just...I just can't anymore, Quinn..._Sam had said angrily.

_Can't what, Sam? Be a husband? Be a dad? You're not giving me much to go on here..._she had responded.

He had shrugged, then shoved his hands in his pockets. _This isn't something recent, Quinn...it's been going on for years..._

Her tears had started. _So, you just can't be a man?_

He glared at her, his cheeks flushed. _You can be such a bitch!_

With that statement, he then eyed the snow globe, picked it up, and hurled it at the nearest wall in their room. Then, he stalked out, slamming their door behind him.

"Mom...it's...mom...go..." Jasper's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Both Jasper and Adam were staring at her. Jasper was pointing to the watch he wasn't wearing on his wrist. She handed over his iPod and stood up.

"Jasper, if you don't mind, I need to have a word with your mom for a second," Adam said. Jasper happily went into the waiting room, already lost in his music.

"Quinn, you seemed...distant...today...everything okay?" Adam moved to her slowly, putting his arm around her shoulders. She turned to face him, teary-eyed. She looked up at the man she had become close to in the last few years. He was older than her by a decade, tall and slim, with soft brown hair and soft brown eyes that drank her in every time he looked at her.

"It's Sam...he's upset...he knows...and he left us." She collapsed into Adam's arms.

_xxxxx_

Sam sat watching his daughters at dance/gymnastics classes. Juliet was the dancer; Jasmine, the gymnast. For the first half-hour, they did dance, then gymnastics for the second half-hour. They had been coming to this gym for the last two years and were really showing improvement. He was glad that he got to take them on the days Jasper had speech therapy; Adam rubbed him the wrong way.

He loved the two tiny blonde girls with all his heart. He loved that they were identical. He loved that they had his eyes and his full lips and Quinn's love for life. He loved that they were athletic and enjoyed being active, like him. Juliet liked her hair long and in curls; Jasmine liked her hair in a short straight bob...that was pretty much the only way they could tell them apart. Juliet usually wore pink; Jasmine took to purple...so there was that difference too. He loved how they were the best of friends.

He watched Jasmine spin around the lower bar of the uneven bars while Juliet maneuvered carefully on the balance beam. While he stared at his daughters, a short brunette stared at him. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket; it was a text message from Quinn, letting him know that they were home from Jasper's therapy and did he know where Joey was. Sam sighed and replied that he had no idea where Joseph was and left it at that.

At the end of the hour, his blonde beauties, as he had been known to call them, bounded up to him, both vying for his attention.

"Daddy! Did you see my handstand-back walkover?" Jasmine grabbed at his left arm.

"Did you see my new dance routine, Dad?" Juliet grabbed at his right arm.

He nodded and tried to answer both girls at one. "Of course I saw! You both did great."

The short brunette sidled up to Sam and his girls, her hips swaying in her workout shorts, her ponytail bobbing here and there. "They both are improving so much, Sam, you should be very proud."

"Miss Katy helped me with the back walkover...I almost did it all by myself...did you see me?"

"I did, Jas, I did...and yes, I'm very proud of my girls," Sam replied to Katy. The girl blushed at his words while his daughters ran off to collect their gym bags.

"So...when are you going to tell her?" Katy asked him.

He worked a hand to her lower back, hidden from sight from his daughters. "Soon, K, soon..."

_xxxxx_

He loaded the girls into his truck and caved when they begged him to stop for ice cream. Of course, they wanted to stop at Splits, bringing back a flood of memories for him, when he and Quinn had first visited Tennessee.

They took their dishes of ice cream to a seat by the windows and chattered away constantly about everything under the sun, it seemed to him. He lost himself remembering Quinn that summer day, after swinging in the park...she had been hot and sweaty, her face flushed and smiling. It had been so long since she had smiled for him that way.

"Daddy?" Jasmine asked, obviously not the first time.

"Uh, yeah..."

"Are you mad at Mom?" she asked him.

"Um…" He stared at his dish of ice cream, hoping an answer would appear there. "Mom and I just had a…a disagreement, girls."

"Are you mad at us?" Juliet asked.

He looked up at his daughters then; their eyes imploring him for any indication that things were okay at home, with Quinn.

"Of course not…not you or your brothers…this is between me and your Mom," he said finally.

"Are you going to get a dee-vorce? Like Ari and Andy's mom and dad?" Jasmine asked.

Finn and Rachel had split up a few years ago, citing irreconcilable differences. Sam paused before answering the girls.

"I don't know."

_xxxxx_

Joe took a long, slow drag off the joint, held his breath as long as he could, and then exhaled, watching the smoke curl from his lips upward to the top of the car.

"Yeah, it was a huge blowout…Dad busted this thing of Mom's against their wall…he left and she was crying…"

The girl he was with took her own hit and rested her head against the car seat.

"Sounds like my mom and dad. Always fucking fighting," she muttered. She passed the joint back to him. "Did he come back?"

Joe looked at her, then hit the joint again. "Nah…he was gone all night…not the first time."

The girl rolled her eyes, taking the joint back. They sat in silence until they had smoked it all.

Suddenly, Joe laughed out loud. "Ya wanna go swing?"

She laughed too and hopped from the car, jogging over to the swingset in the park.

"Push me high, Joey!" she called to him, which caused them to both to break out in a fit of giggles.

He pushed her high, then higher, until she drug her feet in the sand to slow herself down. He clumsily grabbed the chains of the swing and stopped her. He stood in front of her, kissing her, sharing the taste of marijuana between them.

"Oh!" he said, suddenly remembering something. "Come back to the car…I need to read you this quote I found!"

He took her hand and they ran back to her car. From his backpack, he pulled the book of quotes he had been reading the night before when he heard the crash in his parent's bedroom.

"Listen to this…" he said, finding the page, then looking at her.

"_Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies_…Aristotle…how freaking awesome is that?" he asked her, clearly proud of his find.

She scooted in closer to him, taking his face into her hands. "Tis beautiful, Joe."


	2. Chapter 2

**PARADISE IMPERFECT  
**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except an admiration of the tune).**

Sam pulled down the same driveway he had been pulling into for the last 15 or so years. It had changed in some ways and stayed the same in other ways. The house was still the same; some outbuildings had been added. Quinn's daycare was built alongside the driveway, closer to the main road, for visibility. She had been running it for the last 13 years. Since the twins had been born, though, she only owned it and let Kourtney manage it. There were a few cars there today…people picking up their little ones.

His home office was, of course, in their home, but he could be mobile on his iPad and phone now so he wasn't confined to the house. He spent a lot of time in his office in the newest outbuilding anyway. When he had left last night in such a hurry, he had forgotten work-related items so he assumed he'd pick those up now when dropping off his daughters.

The girls had been talking nonstop on the way home, about who was the cutest singer of The Yelling Goats, a new boy-band from the UK (some things never change, he thought), about how hard their math homework was, about Joey's black hair, and wondered what was for dinner. When they pulled to a stop and got out of Sam's truck, it was obvious what dinner was…spaghetti. They could smell it on the air. Quinn had tweaked her recipe over the years until it was damn near perfect, in Sam's opinion. As he climbed the stairs to the front door, his mouth was watering.

The girls burst into the house, following the scent to the kitchen, hollering for Quinn.

"Julie, you start your math homework and why don't you help your sister, Jas, please?" Quinn said to them, coming around the corner.

Sam had stopped in the foyer, at the sight of two suitcases. Quinn stopped there, as well. She was wearing one of his grandmother's old aprons and had her hair pinned up on the sides.

She took a deep breath. "I took the liberty of packing some of your things, Sam. I'll take the kids out this weekend so you can come and get the rest of your stuff. Have you heard from Joseph?"

"No," he said quietly, fiddling with his keys. "I haven't heard from him. Listen, Quinn, about last night…"

She forced an icy smile. "Not now, Sam. I need to track down Joseph."

She wandered back to the kitchen and Sam wandered into the family room. Jasper was sitting on a couch, nodding in time to some song on his iPod. Sam sat down next to him, patting his knee to get his attention.

"Hey buddy…how was school?" Sam asked him.

Jasper shrugged, then mumbled an _okay_.

"Any homework?"

"D-done."

"Cool…how was speech?"

Jasper looked up at him and pulled his earbuds out.

"The…usually…I mean…usual." Sam and Quinn had been told to let Jasper finish his thoughts, not jump in and correct him. "Doing a song…choir."

"A new song?"

Jasper nodded. He excelled in choir and hoped to join the school's Glee Club like his mom and dad. He couldn't speak very well, but singing and music came to him naturally.

"A med-ley…America songs," Jasper told him, his eyes lighting up.

"Ah, for Memorial Day, I take it?"

Jasper nodded, knowing his father would get it.

"I can't wait to hear you all…"

"Mom…talked…Adam today," Jasper blurted out.

"About your therapy?"

Jasper shook his head _no_. "A-alone."

Sam took that in, silently, then said, "Okay…"

Jasper started to put his earbuds back in but Sam asked him to sing some of the new song he had learned in school. Quinn heard Jasper's voice from where she stood at the stove, cooking. His singing voice was nearly perfect…the words flowed when he sang. Something clicked in his brain and everything came together melodically. She pulled Sam's grandmother's china from the buffet and set the table for five.

Sam wandered into the kitchen, leaning against the entryway, watching Quinn at the stove.

"So…Adam?" he asked her.

She turned quickly. "What about Adam? He said Jasper seems to be doing better…"

"You're seeing him."

"No, Sam, I am _not_ seeing him. He is a-a friend of mine, though. A lot like _Katy_ is a friend of yours," Quinn said, biting back her tone, trying to keep it even.

"And? I'm not allowed to have a female friend?" he asked, taking a step toward her.

"Where did you go last night?"

"A friend's."

She smirked. "That's fine…I get it. You're things are in the foyer, Sam. Goodbye."

She planted her hands on her hips, watching to see what his next move would be. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, staring her down. He finally sighed.

"I need to get my iPad. Did you get a hold of Joey?"

She picked up a dishtowel and began twisting it in her hands.

"Yeah…he's on his way home."

"Fine…I'll wait on the porch to see him, then," Sam said, leaving the kitchen. He paused but then turned back toward her.

"I'm looking for an apartment tomorrow, Quinn." Then, he left the kitchen.

_xxxxx_

Sam hugged his daughters and Jasper goodbye, retrieved his iPad, then went to get his suitcases. In the foyer, he saw a car pulling down the drive and Joseph running around the side of the house, toward one of the barns. He put his belongings in his truck, not really even thinking about his Quinn situation but more interested now in the Joseph situation. The only barn Joseph would be visiting was the outbuilding that housed Sam's personal gym since his son had been using the punching bag recently. Sam walked out to that barn where the door stood open a crack. He could hear his son already pummeling the bag.

Sam pushed the door open, then quietly shut it. Joseph heard the click and turned around sharply, stopping the swinging bag with his hand.

"Hey pops…'sup?" he asked Sam. He was wearing only gym shorts.

"Where were you? Your mom was worried about you. And who dropped you off?" Sam asked him.

"Out with a friend. No biggie…jeesh," Joseph replied, turning back to the punching bag, throwing a couple punches. He was the one who looked the most like Sam…except for the black hair. He was built the same, same blue eyes, same goofy personality. He had Quinn's intelligence, though, and usually had his nose buried in a book. Only recently had he taken an interest in working out like Sam did.

Sam walked over to the bag, facing Joseph, holding the bag still.

"What's that smell?" Sam asked him.

Joseph shrugged. "I dunno…I don't smell anything…sweat?"

"I don't think so, Joe," Sam said. "I suggest you shower before going in the house."

Joseph popped his jaw. "You stayin' tonight?"

Sam stared him down. "Not tonight, no."

"So, what's goin' on with you 'n Mom? Sounded pretty gnarly last night…"

"Just…stuff…nothing," Sam mumbled. "Don't get me off the subject…I smelled pot…no more of that…don't be stupid."

Joseph rolled his eyes. Sam stayed with him in the gym for awhile, giving him tips on his workout routine and lecturing him about drugs, before he left the farm.

_xxxxx_

"No, I didn't tell her, but she knows about you," Sam said, toying with the linen napkin at the kitchen table. "I can't stay here anymore…I'm looking for an apartment tomorrow…"

"I have plenty of room, Sam! My guestroom is open to you any time you need it," Katy said to him.

"My kids, you know…I'm still married to Quinn; I can't be living with another woman while we're still…married," Sam said quietly.

She reached across the table and held his hand.

"So, Quinn's purty mad, then?"

Sam looked at her. "She seems like it…I gotta have my own place, though, so I can have the kids over." He pulled his hand away from her.

"Hey…you stayin' here again tonight, Sammy?" Katy's sister, Kim, asked, going through the kitchen to the laundry room.

"Yeah, if it's okay, thanks," he said. "Just one more night, though."

She stopped in the kitchen, putting one manicured hand on her hip.

"I never, ever thought I'd see the day that Sam would not be with Quinn…"

"Shut up, Kim," Katy muttered. "She doesn't appreciate him, like I do."

Kim chuckled. "Oh, dear sister, you'll see…don't underestimate Quinn Evans."

_xxxxx_

"Okay, the girls can clear the table, the boys fill the dishwasher…and this time, boys, _rinse_ the plates first," Quinn said once supper was done.

"Mom?" Juliet asked, picking up the empty glasses and silverware.

"Hmm?"

"Are you and Daddy going to make up?" she asked. All four kids stopped what they were doing, their eyes on Quinn.

"Dad and I need to talk," she replied, heading upstairs.

Once she was out of earshot, Jasmine said to the others, "Daddy put his arm around Katy today at the gym."

"What about your therapy, Jasp? Did she talk to Adam?" Joseph asked him. All eyes turned to Jasper.

He nodded. "They talked…a-alone."

The kids all looked at one another and continued with cleanup.

Upstairs, Quinn locked her bedroom door, and sat on the edge of the bed, checking her phone.

_Did you see him?_ was the message from Adam.

She called him.

"Quinn? Everything okay?" Adam asked on answering his phone.

"Hi…oh, yes…we're okay…um, yeah, Sam brought the girls home earlier. He…left again tonight, said he was going to find an apartment." She sighed. "So, this might be the end, I guess."

Saying the words out loud stunned her somewhat. She never expected to utter them.

"Separating is never easy, Quinn, for anyone. I worry about you…I want you to be happy," he said.

"Don't worry about me, Adam…I'll be fine…thanks for being a friend," she whispered.

"Anything for you, Quinn…anything," he replied.

_xxxxx_

Sam woke in the middle of the night and for a few disorienting moments he forgot where he was. The bed was much smaller, the room was much smaller, even the smell was different…not bad, just different, than his room with Quinn. He rolled onto his back, letting his mind wander. He thought of Quinn and the kids…but the prominent memory that kept creeping into his thoughts was a treatment session of Jasper's, that he and Quinn had both attended. Quinn and Jasper's therapist, Adam, had had a sparkling conversation…her eyes had lit up when the man spoke to her, her smile was genuine. He felt like the third wheel that day. He couldn't shake the memory, so he wandered out of the guest bedroom and down the hall to another room. He slid into the larger bed, next to Katy, craving the companionship that he had been missing from Quinn. She had expected him and let him curl against her.

"More bad dreams?" she asked him.

"Yeah…bad dreams…" he said, trying to find sleep again.

**A/N: Unfortunately, sometimes life isn't always rainbows and unicorn glitter every single day of your romantic relationship. Life steps in and happens. As for Joseph choosing a goth personality, he's just a kid figuring himself out. At the end of Finding Enchantment, Jasper was not yet speaking. What he has is a condition that people who have had strokes might have, expressive aphasia. His brain knows what he wants his mouth to say, but he can't make the connection to say it 100% correctly. The other side of that coin is receptive aphasia, not being able to process what people are saying to you, which Jasper does not have. So, it's a cognitive issue, probably caused by his brief lack of oxygen as a newborn. His hearing is fine. And yes, there will be flashbacks as their story unfolds. Thanks as always for reading. **


	3. Chapter 3

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Sam looked around the dismal apartment. He could afford something much better, but he didn't plan on staying in the small place for any length of time. In fact, he signed only a six-month lease. There was a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen that was just barely large enough for a small dinette set. It was a third-floor walkup, no elevators. He figured he'd buy a couple decent sofa bed couches for when his kids wanted to stay over, maybe the boys one weekend and the girls the next. He had heard about the apartment complex from Finn as Finn had moved here when he and Rachel split up. He sent a quick text to Finn.

_I'll be in 303…signed lease today. Need to go get some stuff._

_Sure dude…I'm free tonight_ Finn replied.

The next person Sam messaged: Quinn. He told her where he'd be staying and that he'd be over on the weekend to pick up more of his stuff. He received a simple _k_ as her response. He sighed and felt defeated. He looked around his new place, then locked up to go to the grocery store.

Later that night, he met up with Finn and wound up at a Target. He bought a futon, an end table, dishware, silverware, towels, and toilet paper to get started.

"God, this sucks, man," Finn said as they wandered around the store.

"Yeah, it's pretty wrong, I think, but what am I gonna do? She's hanging with Adam, I guess," Sam said, picking up some glasses, then checking out microwaves.

"Adam? Isn't that Jasper's…"

"Yeah. Yep, that's the guy. I should've known this would happen eventually."

"Aren't you and Katy, that Kim chick's sister, aren't you two…?"

"Friends."

"Oh, okay," Finn said, a bit confused. "You think you could hook me up with her?"

Sam stared at him. "I don't think so, Finn."

"So...you moved out kinda suddenly..."

"We haven't been getting along for...a long time now. I'm busy with the farm; she's busy with her daycare, then she went back to school and got her business degree. She's busy with the kids. It's like we just..." Sam shrugged. "Grew up and grew apart, I guess."

"Yeah, that happened with Rachel...she devoted her entire life to Ari and Andy, pretty much forgot she had a husband, then her career took off...and here I am," Finn commiserated.

"Have you talked to her lately?"

"Eh, a couple weeks ago...she was just updating me on her schedule," Finn replied. "She'll be gone to New York City for a couple weeks and wants me to keep the kids." He rolled his eyes when he mentioned New York City.

"At least you have a spare bedroom," Sam said, going down the aisle for paper towels.

"They'll be bored senseless, though." Finn picked up a 12-pack of Budweiser. "This'll be good tonight."

A couple hours later, on the Belle Meade High School football field, Sam and Finn had polished off the 12-pack and were starting on another. They were tossing a football back and forth in the almost total darkness. The only lighting they had was from the parking lot lights.

"It's pretty damn cool that you can just come here whenever," Sam said, stumbling and laughing. He sat down on the field at the fifty-yard line and lay back. Then, he yelled. And yelled again. Finn sat down nearby and didn't say anything.

"God! When did this become so fucked up?" Sam yelled, his voice echoing off the nearby school. He groaned. "All I ever wanted was to be happy, ya know? Happy with Quinn, the kids, my life...now, it's all a giant fucking mess and I can't fix it!"

A sound of a beer can being popped open...Finn handed it over to Sam. He sat up to drink it in only a few gulps, then crushed it and tossed it aside with the other empties. He chuckled.

"I've got a wife who's fallen out of love with me, a kid smoking pot, another kid who won't speak, and two little angels...and I've just _fucked_ it all up."

Finn mumbled _my daughter's hair is pink_ and then stayed silent.

"Remember in high school? Remember how...remember how Q kissed you after that big game when she was with me? Remember? And I broke up with her so she could be with you?" Sam chuckled again. "I remember. I remember how awful that felt, how there was no way it could ever get worse than that...it wasn't even close to how broken I am now."

_xxxxx_

"Come to New York with me!" Rachel squealed to Quinn over lunch. "You said you needed to get away this weekend...leave the kids with Kourt and Ryan and come with me!"

Quinn toyed with her food, hesitant. "I could only go for the weekend, you know. I have a lot of work to handle here."

"Of course...the daycare and the kids...didn't you say Sam up and got his own place? Maybe he could keep the boys one night and the girls the next? It won't kill him. Finn is going to have both Arielle and Andrew the entire time I'm in New York. It's his job as father." Rachel watched her friend waffle. "Really, Quinn, it'll be nice to have a friend there before I start the consulting job...seriously."

Quinn sighed, squealed a bit, drummed her fingers on the table. "Lemme check my schedule." She pulled out her phone.

"What kind of schedule do you have for a weekend?"

"Work never ends for me, Rach. It's constant…the kids, Jasper's therapy, work, taking care of the farm…but, you know, a weekend away sounds exactly like what I do desperately need," Quinn said, smiling.

Quinn sent Sam a text message, telling him that she'd be leaving town for the weekend, could he keep the kids?

He replied that he'd work something out.

"So…what's up with you two anyway? I mean, we all noticed you two were kind of, well, growing more distant the last couple years…right after Finn and I separated…"

Quinn tore little pieces from her napkin, pondering her answer.

"I went back to school for my business degree…and it was so hard getting it off the ground in the beginning…then it took off and took up nearly all my time. What time I had left I spent with the children. I've devoted so much time to Jasper and his speech issues…then the twins came along. It's just so sad…Sam and I just…grew apart. He put me on the back burner; I put him on the back burner. We just…lost each other," Quinn said quietly. "Then…Adam…"

"Does Sam know?"

"We're only friends, Rach, nothing more. He listens to me, pays attention to me…makes time for me. I don't know. Sam is seeing someone else."

Rachel dropped her fork. "Pardon me?"

"Sam, yes, he's seeing some woman…the sister of his ex-girlfriend, no less. He claims they're just friends, like me and Adam, but when he blew up the other night he went to her." Quinn stirred her coffee.

"How did you find out?" Rachel asked quietly.

Quinn shrugged. "Word gets around."

Rachel reached across the table, covering Quinn's hand with her own. "I'm sorry, Quinnie."

Quinn sucked in her breath, blinking her eyes furiously. _No tears! No tears!_

"It was bound to happen, Rach," she finally eked out. She sat up straighter. "Yes, New York City. Thank you for asking me to go…it's just what I need right now."

_xxxxx_

He grabbed a fistful of pink-streaked hair, kissing her hard. She ran her hand up his arm to the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

"Oh my god, Joey…" she mumbled.

"I know…I love kissing you…"

He ended the kiss slowly, not really wanting to. "Are you gonna tell your mom or dad?"

"Should I?"

He shrugged, much like his mother. "My dad smelled the pot the other day."

"Oh god…"

"Yeah…he was pretty shitty about it…I'm not telling them right now. They're in the middle of something and I dunno…I just don't want them to know," Joseph said.

"Then I won't say anything either," she said, pulling him back to her.

_xxxxx_

"Can I just stay at the farm this weekend with the kids? They can help me move my stuff to my apartment," Sam asked Quinn. "If that's cool with you."

Quinn gripped her phone. "Sure, Sam. That makes sense. Can you be here Friday night? I'm leaving late."

"Sure…I've missed the kids."

"They've missed you, too," she replied.

Awkward silence.

"Okay," Sam said finally, sighing. "Then, enjoy your, uh, time away. Is this something you're, uh, doing with Adam?"

She rolled her eyes.

"No, Sam. It has nothing to do with Adam."

Sam was quiet. He then asked if she was telling the truth.

"Yes, Sam, I'm telling the truth! Gosh, I'm going with Rachel to New York for the weekend…she invited me!"

Sam was silent for a moment in response to her outburst. "Sorry...I..."

"Just...don't worry about it, Sam. I'll see you about 6 Friday night then?"

"Sure, yeah, I'll be there," he replied. They hung up. He sent a message to Finn.

_Wanna bring the kids over to the farm this weekend? Q's going with R to nyc_

Finn told him that'd be cool and they'd be over later on Friday after Quinn had left.

_xxxxx_

Sam knocked at his own front door. He could hear the usual chaos going on inside, post supper. All the kids were downstairs, vying for Quinn's attention before she left town. For a moment, his heart clenched up...he had only been gone a few days but his life felt so _empty_ when hearing his children's laughter, Quinn's voice.

The door swung open while he stood there turning this all over in his mind. Quinn stood there staring at him. He stared back at her. It felt so wrong to not grab her and hug her and kiss her.

To Quinn, he looked forlorn, standing on the porch, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. He didn't say anything to her, just bore into her soul with his eyes.

She cleared her throat. "Come in, Sam." She stood back, holding the door open for him. "The kids are in the family room."

He followed her on into the house. She looked to be dressed for a business meeting, slim tight-fitting skirt and blazer and blouse and heels. A suitcase sat near the front door. Before she reached the ruckus going on in the family room, he took her by the elbow.

"I didn't mean to, earlier on the phone, to say you were lying...about Adam or whatever..." he started.

She held her breath.

"Just...if you're going to be seeing someone, then we probably need to make this official," he finished.

She tilted her head a bit. "What do you mean, official? I'm not _seeing_ anyone; you are."

He swallowed. "Official, as in a divorce, Quinn. I'm _not_ seeing Katy; she's a friend."

Quinn's eyes were on fire. "A friend with benefits?"

"It's not that way, Quinn," Sam said, reaching forward and grabbing her arm. "She is only...and will only ever be...my friend." The last of that sentence he practically spat out.

"Daddy's here!" Juliet screamed from the hallway. Jasmine screamed too, and they both ran to Sam, grabbing him around the legs. He let go of Quinn and bent to pick up both girls, one on each arm. He pecked both of them on the cheek.

"We'll discuss this more when I return, Sam," Quinn said, going to the kitchen.

"Daddy! Jules and I want to invite you to a tea party!" Jasmine yelled in his ear.

"I'd be delighted," he said, carrying them to the family room where he found Joey and Jasper playing a video game on his old PS5. "Hey guys...Uncle Finn's coming over this weekend with Ari and Andy. I don't want any fighting."

Joey's head whipped around. "He's bringing Arielle?"

Sam paused a moment. "Well, yeah. He's got the kids while Rach goes to New York."

Joey stared back at Sam. "Okay, cool." Then, he turned around to continue playing the video game.

Sam ruffled Jasper's hair as he walked behind him to go to the kitchen.

"-yeah, Sam's here so I'm taking off," Quinn looked up from her phone. "See you soon."

She slid her phone into a pocket of her skirt.

"Enjoy your trip," he said to her.

"I plan on it, except for missing the kids, but they'll be fine with you," she responded. Another awkward silence. "Okay, so..."

She left the kitchen to round up the kids to tell them goodbye. Sam watched from the kitchen. Joseph and Jasper paused their game and got up to hug Quinn, each kissing her cheek. Juliet and Jasmine clamored for her attention; she picked each girl up for a special hug and kiss. Nothing could ever beat the way his kids loved their mother, seeing it through his eyes...to him, it was perfect.

"Okay, guys, I need to get going or else I'll miss the plane with Auntie Rach and you know how she is," Quinn said, wiping away a stray tear, then turning toward the front door. "You can reach me on my cell, of course, I'll have it on the whole time I'm gone. I love you all."

Sam followed her to the front door. "I can load this up for you..." he said, grasping the handle of her suitcase.

"Thank you, Samuel," she said quietly, opening the front door for him.

He loaded it into the backseat of her car, then opened her driver's side door for her. She slid into the car and shut the door, turning the car on. He stood there, waiting to see what she'd do. She actually put the car in gear, then realized he was still standing next to the car. She rolled down her window.

"The kids, Sam..."

He put his hands on her door and leaned down until he was eye-level with her. Everything in his being told him to kiss her goodbye.

Instead, he said, "Take care." He slapped the top of the car and headed back inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

"More tea, Daddy?" Jasmine asked him. He held out his teacup, and she poured invisible tea for him.

"Do you have any coffee in that pot?" he asked them, making them giggle.

"Silly Daddy! Coffee isn't good for you…that's what Mom says," Juliet told him.

Sam smirked. He knew Quinn would sneak a latte with Rachel every once in awhile.

"She's right, girls…I'll enjoy my tea. Are you serving crumpets this evening?"

"Of course!" Juliet answered, putting a pretend griddle cake on his plate.

"You must try the blackberry jam, Daddy," Jasmine said, offering him the empty pot of jam. He pretended to smear some on his invisible crumpet.

"Daddy? Are you and Mom fighting?"

The girls sat on their tiny chairs, waiting for his reply. He shifted uncomfortably where he sat on the floor at the tiny table.

"Well, girls, um…you know how you sometimes kinda fight with each other, like over what to watch on TV? Or when you argue with your brothers over chores? Or even when you get cranky with me and Mom when we tell you 'no'? Me and Mom are kinda having a…a disagreement…it's between us, though, it has nothing to do with you kids," Sam tried explaining.

"You should just do what you make us do…say something nice to each other," Juliet offered.

Sam chuckled. "Good advice, Jules. I'll run it by Mom when she gets back."

"Yo Dad! Finn's here!" Joseph yelled upstairs.

Sam looked at his daughters. "It's been lovely, ladies! I most certainly enjoy taking tea with my two blonde beauties."

He stood up and bowed gracefully before leaving their bedroom and heading downstairs, hearing their giggles follow him.

Finn was in the family room watching Jasper set up his son Andy to play the video game. Joseph and Arielle were sitting on one of the couches sharing earbuds and listening to music, heads lowered together bopping in time to whatever song they were listening to.

"Hey buddy…want something to drink?" Sam asked, going on into the kitchen.

"Sure…sounds good," Finn said, following him through the dining room.

In the kitchen, they stood at the island drinking a couple cold beers.

"How'd it go with Quinn tonight?"

Sam shrugged. "Nothing's really changed…we're just not talking."

"She didn't get upset about you getting your own place?"

"Nope. It didn't bother her a bit." Sam sighed. "Juliet and Jasmine have been asking me some stuff…I think they're kinda worried."

"Yeah…they'll be asking questions. Ari and Andy did…a lot of questions," Finn told him.

"Hey…when did Joey and Ari get so buddy-buddy?" Sam nodded back to the family room.

Finn looked dumbfounded. "Not sure…"

"They're sharing an iPod in there, listening to music together. Do they hang out at school or something?" Sam asked him. Finn also taught a general music education class, a precursor to Glee Club, at Belle Meade High School where he coached and where the older kids went to school. The twins were still at the elementary school.

"Not that I'm aware of…interesting…Jasper and this one girl have been getting friendly in my class, though."

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, a girl named Maragold of all things. She's kinda taken to him," Finn told him.

"Huh…he hasn't mentioned a Maragold…"

They moved to the dining room table with more beer.

"Remember all the parties here? When the kids were so little? What happened, dude? Where'd the time go?" Finn asked him.

"Don't get so damn sentimental, Finn. You sound like a girl," Sam replied, wishing Finn had not opened up that can of worms. Wanting to change the subject, Sam asked him, "What about that science teacher? Did you ever make a move on her?"

Finn snorted. "God, no. I think she's a lesbian. There is a cute girl who just started...one of the assistant coaches for the cheerleaders."

"Right on!" Sam said, lifting his beer and clinking it with Finn's.

"I've been watching her...no ring, cute...hey! Maybe we could double-date if I ever get the balls to ask her out!"

"Double date?" Jasmine asked from the entryway of the dining room. "Daddy?"

Sam shot Finn a glare. "Uncle Finn meant double date with me and Mom, Jas."

She smiled and it broke his heart a little. "Cool!" She ran off toward the family room and they heard her telling the others _Uncle Finn has a girrrrrlfriend!_

_xxxxx_

"First class…thank you, Rach," Quinn said, reclining in her seat and sipping champagne. "This is the life."

"It is, isn't it? Actually, I can't believe I landed this consulting gig…it's awesome…we'll be seeing a production of _Cinderella_ on Broadway…staying at this swank hotel called The Chatwal…it'll be wonderful. Also, I'm glad you were able to get away for the weekend. This will be good for you, Quinn, to just get away," Rachel answered, sipping her own champagne.

The cabin was blessedly quiet while Quinn watched the darkness from her window seat and let her mind wander. At first she was angry that Sam had actually gone as far as to rent his own apartment. She was jealous about him and Katy. She had to believe him that they were just friends; her gut instinct was to trust him. In the end, she had decided to not let on that anything was bothering her. She turned on her Ice Quinn persona easily when he was around. The rest of the flight she spent talking to Rachel…about their kids, their work, their families, old memories from high school…until the jet touched down at JFK International Airport.

A limo awaited their arrival and took them to the hotel. They were led to the top of the building, to a penthouse suite.

"I cannot believe this is where you get to stay for the next two weeks...wow..." Quinn said, walking around the two-floor suite at The Chatwal. Everywhere she looked was pure luxury, hers to soak in for the next two days. Quinn found Rachel on the private rooftop deck, overlooking 44th Street. She could've sworn there were stars in Rachel's eyes.

"Isn't this wonderful, Quinn? It's the best. I wish I could bring Ari and Andy here...if only..." Rachel said wistfully. She turned around to face Quinn, leaning against the deck railing. "They'd hate it, of course. They're both so much like Finn it's scary. And they love Tennessee. But...so do I. I'm just thankful for opportunities like this." She turned back to the street view. "Ah! The theater awaits!"

Quinn laughed at her dramatic statement...so Rachel-like. She fished her phone from her skirt.

"Here...take a pic of me with the city as my backdrop," Quinn said, handing her phone to Rachel. Rachel took a couple pictures of Quinn, then Quinn took pictures of Rachel, then they took selfies of themselves, laughing.

Back inside the suite, Quinn sat at the bar while Rachel mixed them cocktails. She chose a picture and sent a mass text to her kids, letting them know she had made it to NYC safely. Hesitating for a moment, she added Sam on the text and hit _send_.

_xxxxx_

After all the kids had collapsed, Sam and Finn took over the PS5. They had pretty much drunk all the beer in the house, a six-pack Sam thought, and were loosened up and laughing.

"Ugh...you know what I miss?" Finn said suddenly.

"Not with the sentimental shit again..." He felt his phone vibrate and saw a message from Q. It was a picture of herself on what looked to be a balcony with the city of New York lit up behind her. Her smile was beautiful but her eyes looked sad. He turned his phone off.

"Seriously, dude...singing...I miss singing...like in Glee Club...remember? It was like...like our total life back then...nothing else mattered." Finn laughed. "They never warn you about all the real-life crap that does matter."

"No...no...they totally tell you...but when you're young you don't pay any attention, ya know? Mr. Schue used to warn us all the time about how sucky real life was and did I pay attention? Hell no! My god, I was married to my high school sweetheart...what the hell did I care?"

"I just miss being on the stage, singing to an audience, loving the spotlight. I miss those days," Finn said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well we all miss those days but we need to keep looking forward, right? You can't live in the past," Sam said, winning the game. "I'm gonna crash."

He picked up the empties with Finn and tossed them, then made his way upstairs. He noticed a pinkish glow coming from under Joseph's bedroom door and knew instinctively that his son had left his lava lamp on again after falling asleep. Sam opened Joseph's bedroom door, quite unprepared for the sight before him.

"What the hell?" he said, maybe a little too loudly, flipping on the overhead light.

Arielle and Joseph stared back at him, like deer caught in headlights. Except in this instance, Arielle's hand was down Joseph's boxers, Joseph's hand nearly on Arielle's boob.

"Dad!" Joseph yelled, grabbing at his t-shirt.

"Oh my god, Mr. Evans!" Arielle hopped up from Joseph's bed, tugging at her t-shirt, and ran past Sam.

"Do you mind telling me what is going on up here?" Sam asked, pushing the door closed.

Joseph grumbled, pulling his t-shirt over his messy hair. "What'd it look like?"

Sam stood there with his hands on his hips. "Don't make me go there, Joseph Aaron. How long has this been going on?"

Joseph rolled his eyes. "I dunno, Dad...awhile, okay? Don't tell Uncle Finn or Mom. And no more sex talk. The first one was bad enough."

Now, Sam rolled his eyes. He pulled out the chair at Joseph's desk and sat down with a sigh. "Have you two...you know...?"

"God Dad!"

"Joe, you are only 15...just _barely_ 15! You're way too young to be making decisions like this."

"Kinda like you and Mom, huh?" Joseph smirked at him.

"Totally not like me and your mother," Sam replied sternly, thinking _like father, like son_.

They sat there in silence for a bit. Finally, Joseph said quietly, "No...we haven't..._you know_...I like her though."

Sam felt a huge relief come over him. "It's fine to like one another...she doesn't need to be in your bed, however. No more of that. And, yeah, I'm telling your Mom and Finn and Rachel."

Joseph rolled his eyes again and groaned. "Rachel doesn't like me! She won't let me date Ari."

Sam was shocked. "What are you talking about? Of course Rachel likes you! She loves all you kids...what put that in your head? Arielle? Did Ari tell you that?"

Joseph shrugged.

"Anyway," Sam said, standing up. "That isn't what we're talking about here...I need some sleep so we'll talk more in the morning. No more overnight guests either." He left Joseph's room after mumbling a _love you_ to his eldest son. He made his way to his and Quinn's bedroom and shut the door. The room smelled like her. He saw the mark on the wall where the snow globe had landed. He stripped down to his boxers and curled up under an afghan in the recliner, avoiding the bed he had shared with Quinn the past 16 years.

_xxxxx_

"So...was it hard with Finn? You know, when you two made the decision to...to not be together anymore?" Quinn didn't even like to say the word _divorce_. It made her feel like a complete failure.

"When we decided to get divorced? Well, yeah, it was a pretty difficult time, but you survive. Why?"

"Sam, he kind of...well, he sort of mentioned it..."

"Are you kidding me? _He_ wants a _divorce_?" Rachel screeched. "Ugh! I hope you told him you had already filed!"

Quinn looked at her friend in shock. "Of course not, Rach! God! I knew he wanted some time alone to work out whatever he's dealing with...you know, him getting that apartment...but I never really expected _divorce_! He asked me if we should make it official." Quinn snorted, but it was more of a small sob. "It was almost like he was proposing again."

Rachel slammed her palms down on the bar counter. "That settles it then! He wants out, Quinn. He brought up the idea to you...it has to be because of that wench Katy. That just disgusts me. I would've hog-tied Finn's balls had he pulled a trick like that."

"I don't know what's going on between them…"

"You need to check his phone…have you checked his phone yet? Get a hold of that…men hide all kinds of junk on there…sexting, porn…I bet he has it all…I just can't believe he's treated you like this…the mother of his children…" Rachel began _tsk_ing him. "I'm sure he has Finn involved somehow."

"He's not all to blame, though…I've done my own share of being a bitch," Quinn said. "I've somehow gotten closer to Adam…I think he thinks I'm sending signals…and, I don't know, maybe I have…"

Rachel sat down on a stool, facing Quinn. "Spill the deets, girlfriend."

Quinn blushed, her eyes filling with tears. "The other day, after Jasper's therapy, I stayed after and told him about Sam getting angry and leaving. Adam put his arm around me and before I knew it he was kissing me. It…it shocked me…I'm married, for Christ's sake and he knows it! I stopped it! I made him stop." Quinn tried not to cry but failed. She sucked in her breath. "It made me feel so damn guilty. I made a vow to Sam."

Rachel reached across the bar counter and patted Quinn's hand.

"But Sam broke them," she said to Quinn. "I'm so sorry, Q, but he let you down."

Quinn sniffed and truly hoped Rachel wasn't right.

**A/N: Sorry, not sorry. I've written over ONE MILLION words demonstrating how happy and in love Sam/Quinn are. A few unhappy words will not kill you! Your reaction...shock, outrage, sadness, confusion...is what I intended. Quite frankly, things will get worse before they get better. Over the course of time, a relationship between two people will encounter all kinds of crap that will prove to each other how strong their bond is...or isn't. I was going for realistic and I'm glad I've touched on it...as hard as that may be to read. Hang in there and keep reading!** ** Most times there's a rainbow after the storm...just sayin'.**


	5. Chapter 5

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

"Okay, son, what's going on?" Sam asked Joseph the next day while they worked out in the home gym.

Joseph was on the weight bench, bench pressing, while Sam worked on the elliptical. He didn't answer his dad.

"First, the pot…then, the…the…whatever happened last night." Sam paused for a moment. "I understand what you're going through, Joe…I've been there, like you said."

Joseph put his weights down. "Okay, the pot was, like, a two-time thing…maybe three times. It's not, like, serious or anything, alright? We were just…trying it out. I've never even had a beer to drink and _all_ my friends are drinking."

Sam listened to him. Joseph had never been one to lie to him, but neither was he close to Sam.

"What about Arielle? Is she your girlfriend or what? Is this serious with her?" Sam asked.

Sam was surprised to see the blush on Joseph's cheeks. "You know, we've known each other, like, forever and, you know, I like her…for a girl, she's pretty cool."

"I just don't think you two should be getting so serious so quickly, Joe. Do you have any questions?"

"About what?"

Sam looked at him. "Sex, Joseph...any questions about sex."

"Uh, no. I mean, I have rubbers if that's what you want to know," Joseph told him. "I know how to use them, too."

"I thought you said..."

"They taught us in school, Dad," his son said, rolling his eyes. "Listen, if you tell Uncle Finn, he'll freak out and probably try to kick my ass."

"Language, Joseph. And, Finn needs to know. Ari's his kid," Sam said, kind of hating the fact that he needed to tell Finn. "Actually, I think _you_ should be the one to tell him."

"Are you kidding me?"

Sam smiled. "Nope. If you're man enough to have an intimate relationship with his daughter, then you should be man enough to tell him yourself."

"Tell him what? That we're going out?"

"Tell him what your intentions are."

Joseph sighed. "I _have_ no intentions...right now...jeesh! We're just friends...close friends."

It was like Sam's words came back to slap him in the face. He had told Quinn that he and Katy were friends. Katy was a good distraction for his marriage going south, but it still made his gut churn. Besides, Quinn had said she and Adam were just friends. He was beginning to wonder if "friends" was the new code word for who they were banging. He wanted to trust Quinn and believe her, that she and Adam were actually only friends. He enjoyed spending time with Katy...she was new and interesting and fun...but he was still married and wouldn't let the relationship progress any further than one stupid drunken kiss.

"C'mon...let's find Finn and get this over with," Sam said, toweling off from his workout.

_xxxxx_

Quinn did not have a care in the world at the moment. Rachel had lined up a spa day for them on Saturday at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa. It was a complete day of beauty for them...the Ultimate Indulgence spa package, including a Red Door Signature massage, an Essential facial, Milk & Honey Nourishing Sugar Body Glow treatment, an Olive Oil manicure and pedicure, hair trim and style, and makeup artistry. Then, they were to attend the theater, specifically the theater where Rachel was contracted to do her consulting work, yet another revival of _Cinderella_.

"I wish Arielle was into doing these kind of girly things with me," Rachel mumbled during their massage. "I feel like I've missed out on so much with her."

The young masseuse's hands on Quinn's back felt otherworldly. She might have moaned a tiny bit.

"Why didn't you bring her with us for the weekend? I would've flown back with her," Quinn said.

"She said something about seeing a friend," Rachel told her.

"A friend, eh?" Quinn said, chuckling. "Sam and I were _friends_ in high school, remember, as were you and Finn."

Rachel turned her head to glare at Quinn. "Of course I remember! She just doesn't seem interested in boys yet."

"Would she tell you if she was interested in someone?"

Rachel scrunched up her face. "No...she doesn't tell me anything. All she does is read, drive around in that old car Finn bought her, and do weird things with her hair."

"What color is it now?"

"Pink." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Hmm...I bet she rocks the pink," Quinn said, smiling at Rachel. "So, do you think it's a boy? I mean, she's nearly 16, Rach."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "God, I hope not a boy...or a girl for that matter. She's just too young to be with boys."

Quinn chuckled again. "You need to cut the apron strings at some point. We've been lucky with Joey...even with all his weird phases. No hint of anything romantic coming from him."

"I wish he'd let the black grow out of his hair; his blonde hair is so pretty...for a boy," Rachel said. She pondered that for a moment. "Wouldn't that be kinda neat? Ari and Joey, you know, getting together?"

"They could get married and we'd like mother-sisters-in-law...or something," Quinn laughed.

"Maybe one of your twin princesses will win Andy's heart...there's not too much of an age difference there," Rachel countered.

They were both still laughing by the time they made it to the stylist's chair to have their hair and makeup done.

_xxxxx_

Joseph followed Sam back into the house. They heard voices in the family room, so Sam headed that way. They found Finn playing video games with Jasper and Andy while the girls were painting their nails. Sam looked at Joseph and caught him staring at Arielle. Both looked terrified, much like the night before.

"Hey, uh, Uncle Finn?" Joseph asked quietly after clearing his throat. "You think we can, uh, talk?"

Finn laughed at something Jasper said, then paused the game. He first looked at Joseph, then to Sam, then back to Joseph.

"Sure...what's up?"

"Well...alone...talk alone, I mean," Joseph stammered.

Arielle blushed bright red and whispered to the twins that they should go upstairs and do each other's hair.

"Jasper, why don't you and Andy get the pool stuff out of the barn? We need to open the pool soon," Sam said to them. They groaned but got up and headed toward the back of the house. Sam sat down.

"What's going on?" Finn asked, completely clueless.

"Joseph..." Sam prompted his son, who was currently shoving his hands in and out of his pockets alternating with running his hands through his hair.

Joseph cleared his throat again. "Well, Mr. Hudson, uh, well, you know your, uh, daughter, Arielle...and I...are, uh, dating. I mean, may I, uh, date your daughter Ari?"

An awful moment of silence hung in the air.

Then, Finn laughed out loud, surprising both Sam and Joseph. "Um...no," Finn pronounced finally.

"What?" Joseph said, along with an eavesdropping Arielle.

"Daddy!" She stomped back up the stairs and they heard a door slam.

"I said, no, you're not dating my little girl. Not because I don't like you, Joe, I like you very much. But, my little girl is just that, my little girl."

Joseph looked at Sam, defeated.

"They're actually really good friends, Finn, and Joseph's a decent boy...I wouldn't let them get by with anything inappropriate," Sam said, interjecting on Joseph's behalf, shooting Joseph a glance.

"Really, Sam? Do you not remember being 16?" Finn asked, chuckling. "No, my daughter is _not_ dating _anyone_ until she's at least 18."

"Joseph, go help the other boys with the pool," Sam said.

Joseph stood up to leave. "Mr. Hudson...Finn...I really like Ari and she really likes me. If we can only be friends right now, then so be it. I'll wait 'til she's 18."

Once he had left the house, Sam spoke first. "I never thought you'd be so harsh about Ari."

Finn shrugged. "I'm just protecting her; it's my job to protect her. What about when Jules and Jas want to date?"

Sam pictured this; his two blonde beauties..._dating_..._boys_. No way was that ever going to happen.

"I get it, Finn, I do. The thing with Joe and Ari is they've known each other, like, _forever_. If we tell them 'no, you can't go out', you know what will happen. We'll be grandparents before too long," Sam said, turning the TV on to some baseball.

"There's no rush for Arielle to be dating anyone. It's not Joseph; I like the kid...not too sure about the hair, but he's a good kid. How long has this been going on? How'd you find out?"

Sam really didn't want to divulge what he had witnessed the night before. Mainly because he didn't want Finn to kill him and then kill Joseph. "Joe 'fessed up about it today. I noticed them giving each other, well, _looks_ yesterday." That was kind of the truth.

Finn nodded. "I suppose we can't stay here tonight..." He sighed. "I'll still help you move stuff over to your new place if you want."

Sam had pushed that to the back of his mind. "Nah, dude...Joey and Jasper can help me...it's no problem."

"I know one thing for sure...Rachel will fucking freak out," Finn said.

"So will Quinn."

_xxxxx_

"This is absolutely wonderful, Rachel. Thank you for inviting me," Quinn told her friend during intermission of _Cinderella_. The entire day had taken her mind off what was going on at home, with Sam. It was during intermission that Rachel received a text message from her daughter.

"This must be serious for her to text me," Rachel mumbled, reading it. "She says 'daddy is being a pig'. Tell me something I don't know, Ari!"

This set off a fit of giggles. Rachel texted her back asking what she meant.

"She says, 'just nothing...he won't let me be friends with anyone'. Hmm...that's mysterious," Rachel said.

"If you ask me, it sounds like a boy...just saying," Quinn said, smiling. Rachel made a face at her just as the house lights flickered.

"I'm telling her I'll talk to Finn and see what's going on," Rachel said.

Quinn's phone vibrated in her hand. She had an incoming call from Adam. She clicked _accept_ and turned away from Rachel.

"Adam?" she whispered.

"Hey you...just wondering how your get-away is going?"

"I'm having a great time...we're at _Cinderella_ now...it's getting ready to start again..."

He laughed a little. "So that explains the whispering. I just wanted to say hi...I kinda missed your voice...listen, Quinn, I was wondering..."

The lights went completely dark.

"Oh...Adam! I need to go...the show's starting!" she whispered, cutting him off and clicking _end_ on her phone.

She got a text a few minutes later.

_I was just wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me when you return? Just as friends...nothing more. -Adam_

She typed back in the dark..._Sure...as friends_.

_xxxxx_

"Well kids, what'd'ya think?" Sam asked his four children as they all stood shoulder to shoulder in the tiny living room of his apartment. They had moved some furniture over and other things of his, so that he could at least have the most basic of comforts.

"Uh, well…" Jasper said, looking around. "Nice."

"Why did you have to move out anyway?" Joseph asked. Being the oldest, he was more apt to speak his mind about what him and his siblings had been wondering.

"To give your mom some space…we haven't really been getting along very well…this will give us some space to think about…things…"

"What things?" Jasmine asked him.

"You still love Mom, don't you?" Juliet piped up from the kitchen. She was poking around in his refrigerator. "Is this beer?"

"Juliet, come in here…you three sit…" Sam positioned them on the sofa.

He stood before them, their father, the man married to their mother, and held his breath. He exhaled and began.

"I will always, forever, love your mother. She is one of the most important persons in my life, has been for nearly 20 years. We've been best friends and lovers and partners…the most important of those is friends. We'll always be friends…no matter what. And nothing, _nothing_, will ever happen to make us love the four of you less. You four made us a family. In my heart, the six of us will always be _our_ family. If your mother and I make a decision in the future where we think it would be better for us to live apart, then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. If your mother or I make new friends, then that's another bridge. No one is mad at one another. No one loves anyone any less. And, I'm sorry that I blew up the other night and broke something of Mom's. That was terribly wrong of me, and I apologized to her too. Now, who wants pizza?"

The four kids all looked at each other. Sam could see the concern on their faces. His girls jumped up and ran to him, hugging him tightly. He squatted to meet them but the three of them wound up falling over. Their giggles in his ears, then his sons dog-piling on them, might have been the only thing that kept him from crying in front of his kids.

**A/N: First of all, thank you to the faithful few who read and review and give it to me like it is. For those who choose not to read any further, I'll miss hearing from you. For those who choose to continue on with me, hang on, we're in for a bumpy ride.**


	6. Chapter 6

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Quinn's splitting headache was what woke her up the next morning. Afternoon? She slowly opened her eyes and realized she wasn't even in a bed but half on and half off a couch, still in the pink dress she wore to _Cinderella_. Still being a bit drunk, she said out loud, "I must've lost my glass slipper!"

"Whu?" a voice from the other end of the couch asked. Quinn squinted. It was a dark-haired olive-skinned man laying half on and half off the couch much like her.

Slowly, Quinn looked about Rachel's suite. It was littered with passed out party-goers and empty bottles of Dom Perignon. The evening began coming back to her bit by bit. She groaned as she sat up. First things first, pull the drapes...the sun was killing her head. Then, a stop at the bathroom before going in search of Rachel.

She found Rachel in her underwear in a giant bed, partially under a down comforter, next to a very naked man. Quinn climbed in between them, giggling, and pulled the comforter up around herself and Rachel.

"No...my head hurts, Antonio," Rachel mumbled.

Again, Quinn giggled. "It's not Antonio, Rach...just me. I couldn't lay on that couch anymore."

"Mmm...well then, come aboard. Antonio won't mind. How was last night even real?"

The pillows felt wonderful under Quinn's aching head. "It was impossible. I haven't felt like that for 20 years."

"Shhh..." Rachel whispered. "We're not that old."

"Right now, I feel that old," Quinn complained. "Your suite is full of people downstairs."

"A sign of a great bash then...more sleep, less talk," Rachel mumbled, already drifting off. Quinn did the same.

Six hours later, she felt halfway human again, showered, packed, and was on a plane, flying back to Nashville. She was reliving thoughts of the night before while relaxing...the play, Rachel inviting the cast back to the suite, the never-ending champagne, the Prince. The actor who portrayed the Prince in the production was the one who crashed on the couch with her. His name was Stefan, Quinn thought though not sure. Stefan had been wooing her the entire evening...telling her tales of working in the theater, then dancing with her, then taking her to the rooftop deck and kissing her softly on the lips. She could taste champagne and something else on his mouth...strawberry maybe? He was taller than her, and his body was lithe and muscular, his hand slipped around her waist, pulling her closer. She pushed through the alcohol haze and finally demurred, whispering that she was, in fact, married. He had been the consummate gentleman, leading her to the couch where they sat at each end and chatted through the night until both nodded off.

And this is the life that Rachel was choosing to live. Broadway shows, fabulous after-parties, sleeping until late afternoon...Quinn could never do it. She didn't want to admit it to Rachel, but being away from her kids was playing on her mind. She wondered if Jasper had been practicing his speech...if Jasmine had helped Juliet with her math...what was going on with Joseph. She knew her daycare business was running smoothly; Kourtney had assured her of that. They were open for limited hours during the weekends, so, at first, Quinn had worried about not being available should any problems arise. She did receive one odd text message from Jasmine, though, from the night before...while she was sipping champagne with Stefan.

_Daddy sed he'll always luv u!_ was what she had written to Quinn. That made Quinn wonder what exactly Sam had been telling the children while she was away. She stared out the plane's window into the great expanse, thinking.

_xxxxx_

"Well, that weekend was shot all to hell," Finn said to Sam, passing him another beer.

Sam shrugged. "At least I got to spend some quality time with my kids...I've kinda been lacking in that department lately. Where're Ari and Andy?"

They were sitting in Sam's new apartment, watching another baseball game on TV. Quinn had returned a couple hours ago, and he took the kids back to her. She only told him _thank you_ and gave him the stink-eye so he didn't stick around to talk.

Finn shrugged. "Out. Doing their own thing. No, really..." He laughed after Sam looked at him incredulously. "They're upstairs doing homework...or supposed to be doing homework...for finals coming up."

Sam's phone began to play _Wild Thing_, Katy's ringtone.

"Yep..." he answered her call. "I'm hanging out with Finn...maybe...I'll see..." He put his phone down and looked at Finn.

"Do you trust your kids to stay alone and not get into any trouble?" Sam asked him.

Finn shrugged again. "I s'pose...what's going on?"

"That was Katy...she wants me to meet her at Tootsie's…"

"In Nashville?"

"Yeah…wanna come with?"

"Lemme call the sitter…" Finn said, hitting two digits on his phone.

Forty minutes later, they were walking into the loud smoky lounge. Sam scanned the crowd and found Katy and her sister, his ex-girlfriend from many years ago, Kim.

"Sam! Sam's here!" Katy screeched over the crowd and music, rushing up to Sam and engulfing him in a bear hug and pecking him on the cheek. She then hugged Finn.

"Hi girls…having fun tonight?" Finn asked.

"As fun as one can have in Nashville," Kim replied.

Sam and Finn sat down. "We can't stay long…Finn's kids are with the sitter," Sam told them.

Katy sat down next to Sam, picking his hand up and holding it in his.

"Wanna dance?" she slurred, leaning into his side, breathing on his neck.

"Um, no, not tonight, Katy…uh, can we talk somewhere…a little more quiet?"

She laughed. "There is nowhere quiet here, Sam Evans!"

He ignored her and stood up, pulling her along with him. He led her to a coat room area where it was a little more calm.

"Listen, Katy, I like you, I do…I just…I'm still married to Quinn, you know, and it's not right for me to see you while I'm still with her. I'm sorry, Katy, I am…it's just not a good time for me right now," he mumbled quickly.

She stared at him with big watery eyes but didn't speak.

"Do you understand? My kids see what I'm doing and, well, that kinda makes me not such a great dad. So…"

Still nothing from Katy. The song changed at the club, and she suddenly came alive. She grabbed him by his upper arms.

"Sam! You'll figure it out and I'll be waiting!" she said cheerfully and took off to dance.

He sighed, rolled his eyes, and went back to where Finn was flirting with Kim but not getting anywhere.

"C'mon Finn…I talked to her and I'm ready to go," Sam said. "See ya, Kim."

"Oh, well, okay…so, you have my number, right? Gimme a call when you wanna go out and do somethin'," Finn said to Kim, leaning in to give her a quick hug goodbye.

Sam got out of there as quickly as possible. In his truck, he told Finn what had transpired between him and Katy.

"Sounds like she's not letting you go even though you gave her her walking papers, yeah?" Finn asked.

Sam groaned. "Sounds like a fucking mess to me."

_xxxxx_

Quinn cornered Juliet and Jasmine once she got home and unpacked and somewhat caught up on her routine.

"What did this message mean?" she asked the girls, showing them her phone.

"Daddy had a talk with us, when he took us to his new 'partment last night," Juliet told her. "About stuff."

"Hmm…what kind of 'stuff'?"

"Like, about you and him, and that you'll always be friends and you both love us…"

Quinn nodded. "I see. And how did that make you two feel?"

The twins looked at one another before responding. Together, they said, "Sad."

Quinn sighed. "Yeah, I'm kinda sad too."

_xxxxx_

Sam drove toward Belle Meade. He had been quiet; his thoughts were concentrated around his marriage to Quinn and his friendship with Katy.

"It's so quiet here at night…no night life to speak of," Finn mumbled.

Ignoring what Finn had said, Sam replied, "I can't even remember the last time I kissed Quinn."

Finn chuckled a bit. "The last time I kissed Rach was when we decided to get divorced."

Sam shot him a look. "You're right…this town is dead at night…it needs something."

He was driving down Main Street…past the post office, Splits, an antiques shop, the bank, Kim's salon, the florist, a barber shop, a jewelry shop, the community center.

"Huh…check it out…old Weston's Hardware is empty," Finn said, pointing at a building built at the turn of the twentieth century, three stories tall, narrow, and long. The hardware store had actually been two of those buildings, taking up half a city block. A large semicircular window, stretching 1-1/2 stories tall, was the main feature at the front. "That'd make one helluva party place…par-tay central!"

"What'd'ya mean?" Sam asked him.

"Like, adult fun…the first floor could be a restaurant/bar, the second floor a bowling alley and video games and pool, and the third floor…" Finn stopped, thinking. "I got it! Freakin' karaoke! And dancing!"

Sam laughed out loud at that. "You're dreaming, dude! No way could you ever afford rent on that huge-ass building but running a place like that? Oh my god!"

Finn looked at him. "Maybe I couldn't do it alone…maybe if I had a partner…"

Sam slugged him in the arm. "Wake up, man! We're almost home! You're crazy, did'ya know that?"

Finn laughed. "Yeah, I know…"

_xxxxx_

Two weeks later, after dragging Sam to the old hardware store for a walk-through tour, Finn signed a one-year lease on the building, Sam co-signing. It turned out Mr. Weston owned the building, he had retired and no one in his family wanted to continue the business. Rent was cheap and he liked Finn's idea. The interior of the building was in good shape, basically a blank slate with hardwood floors and off-white walls. The exterior of the building was all brick. There was limited parking on the street in front of the building but a lot owned by Weston behind the building for overflow. For those two weeks, Sam and Finn worked each night creating a business plan for their new endeavor, things like hiring a staff, working out hours of operation, securing the funds to get the business off the ground and to pay their staff, ordering supplies, making up a menu. It seemed as though their to-do list was endless, but it was also coming together nicely…except for a name. They still had not decided on what to call this place.

During this time, Sam and Quinn kept their distance from one another. She, of course, knew about the party place that he and Finn were opening and discussed it with Rachel who was now back in town. They were intrigued by the idea but weren't sure if it'd be a success in a small quiet town like Belle Meade. Running the farm and preparing to dive head-first into this venture with Finn was taking up nearly all of Sam's time. Time he spent with his kids was bringing them to the building to show them the progress being made. The kids were interested in helping get things decorated and ready so he let them help do that. One evening, Jasmine was chasing Juliet through the three different floors, in and out of tables and various pieces of equipment.

Juliet ran into Sam, red-faced and sweaty and out of breath.

"Daddy! It's like a jungle in here!" she shouted, running off.

Finn overheard her and laughed. "Welcome to the jungle…"

"We've got fun and games…" Sam finished for him. They looked at one another and the name of their establishment was born.


	7. Chapter 7

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

"Sam, I suppose we need to talk," Quinn said to him when he dropped off the kids at the farm, the day before The Jungle was to open. One month had passed since they signed the lease. She stood on the front porch, watching him at his truck.

"About?" he asked, a little short with her.

Since her trip to New York City and his recent involvement with his new business, there had been little interaction between them, only conversation about their kids. He had heard, from the children, that she had been out to dinner with Adam, more than once. He, on the other hand, had been avoiding Katy like the plague, even at gymnastics/dance rehearsals with the girls.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of herself defensively.

"About us, Sam…what's going on with us?" she asked.

He chuckled a bit. "Not much is going on with us, I'd say. I can't even remember the last time you kissed me."

Her mouth dropped open. "How can you not…oh, just never mind…I knew this was a mistake…" She turned to go inside the house but now he was intrigued.

"What is a mistake? This is what you wanted, right?" he asked suddenly, rushing up the porch steps to grab her arm and make her stay on the front porch.

"It was a mistake to try to talk to you. What I wanted? How would you know what I wanted? You've not talked to me about anything important in _months_, Sam!"

They stared at one another, willing the other to speak next.

Finally, quietly, Quinn said, "You last kissed me on April 1, when we were reminiscing about Joseph's birth."

He stood there silently. They had been talking about the night Joseph arrived…how scary it had been for them…how could he have ever been that tiny? Sam had told Quinn he remembered kissing her when he first got to see her after the birth…how much it had meant to him. That night, Joseph's fifteenth birthday, he had kissed her softly before sleep.

"It's been that long?" he asked her.

She nodded silently.

"What is it that you think I want, Sam?"

He sighed. "I think you don't want me, Quinn. You never had to say a word; it's been written all over your face when you look at me, in the way you actually stand far apart from me, in the way you sleep with your back to me…I can _feel_ it, Quinn."

"We are on such different wavelengths then," she said in exasperation, turning toward the door.

"What is it then that you want, Quinn? Tell me," he said quietly.

She paused at door, her hand on the knob. She turned to face him.

"I want it back, Sam…our magic. _That_ is what I want." She paused a moment. "But I think it's gone."

_xxxxx_

Sam had left after shrugging his shoulders and mumbling something about not knowing how to go about getting that back. Driving to The Jungle, he tried to remember what it was so many years ago that drew them together like magnet to steel. Sometimes he hated himself for how he was behaving; sometimes he hated her for how she was behaving. Maybe it was just the simple truth that they were young when they got married and had kids, things change over the years, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Finn and Rachel had come to those terms and accepted them; he and Quinn might have to do the same. He rubbed the back of his neck as he drove, pushing thoughts of her out of his head and concentrating on what they needed to do for tomorrow's grand opening.

He couldn't wrap his head around what was going on with him and Quinn. They had come together as a family recently for the Memorial Day performance of Jasper's general music ed class that Finn taught. Jasper was very proud of the America song medley and had been practicing his singing around the house or when driving around with his parents for the past few weeks. They thought he was excited about the singing…as it turned out, he was excited about seeing his new friend, Maragold. It was the first time Sam and Quinn had met the girl; Jasper introduced them happily. The day had been a good day for all of them, first the performance and then a picnic and swimming at the farm. It really made Sam miss family time at home with his kids.

He pulled up in the front of their building and went on inside, surprised to see Katy and her sister Kim standing there chatting with Finn.

"Hey, dude, I just gave the girls the grand tour," Finn told him.

Sam had not spoken to Katy since the night at the club in Nashville. Now, at his new business with Finn, he still didn't want to talk to her. But, he was forced to.

"Long time, no see," she purred, walking up to him. "I haven't even seen you at the gym."

"Um, hi, Katy…no, I've been busy with the farm and with this," he said, gesturing around. "What'd'ya think?"

"I think I'd like to see your apartment," she whispered quietly, pressing in closer to him.

"Oh, god, yeah, tonight's not a good night…we're opening tomorrow and yeah just not a good night," he stammered.

She smiled a little, sensing his discomfort. "Fine. But eventually you'll invite me over."

_xxxxx_

There was a knock at the door she wasn't expecting. She left her home office to answer it.

"Hey beautiful," Adam said, winking. Quinn blushed. Then shushed him.

"The kids are running around…you know…" She kind of shrugged.

He handed her a bouquet of fresh white roses from behind his back. "For you. From a friend."

She accepted them, bringing them to her nose to inhale their scent. "Thank you. Come in…"

He followed her through the house to the kitchen where she found a vase in a lower cabinet and filled it with water for the roses.

"These are lovely, thank you," she said again. He had taken a seat at the island. "So, to what do I owe this visit?"

He smiled at her. "I haven't seen you at Jasper's appointments. I thought you might want an update."

"Yes, please. I'm sorry, I've been busy when he sees you," she lied. She would drop Jasper off and do some mindless shopping just to keep from seeing Adam. She had decided that until she and Sam made their split official she was not going to see Adam alone anymore. They had been to dinner a couple times since she had returned from New York City but she put a stop to that.

He filled her in on Jasper's progress over the last few weeks, then asked about her.

"I'm fine, just keeping busy with the daycare and all my kids," Quinn told him. She sat down near him and lowered her voice. "Adam, I can't keep seeing you while I'm still married to Sam, because of the kids. I'm sorry, I like you, but right now is just not the best time."

"I understand, Quinn. I've never thought of you as anything more than a friend…not really. You know I'm always available if you need to talk. I wish I could be say that I hope things work out between you and Sam, but, honestly, I hope they don't. I miss seeing you happy, Quinn. And, in the future, maybe you can give me that chance?"

Quinn blushed, looking at her manicured nails. "Thank you for the kind words, Adam. It's just complicated right now."

"My ex-wife and I didn't have children when we divorced so there wasn't that factor, but I realize it's difficult…for everyone." He stood up, smiling kindly at her. "I'm here if you need me."

He touched her hand briefly and squeezed, then saw himself out.

She finally exhaled and then inhaled the scent of the roses again.

_xxxxx_

"He said no more of this," Joseph told her, laughing, exhaling the pot smoke. "He has no idea." He passed her the joint.

"None of them do," Arielle replied. "And not just about the weed…about us. They have no idea how much you love me and how much I love you."

She finished the joint, then climbed over to the passenger seat and straddled Joseph, running her fingers through his hair. "Maybe you should let it go blonde again and then add blue streaks…so cool…"

"Yeah…" he agreed, kissing her, holding her hips, letting her rub against him. "Like one soul in two bodies, right?"

"Mhmm…right…" she sighed between kisses. She could feel his erection under her, knowing he was turned on, like he had been the night in his bedroom.

"We should do something…together, you know? To prove them wrong…" she whispered into his ear, then kissed him gently on his neck. He squirmed and groaned.

"Like…like what?" She pressed down against him and he bit his lip but a quiet moan still escaped.

"I don't know…" She rocked her hips forward on his boner, then backward, then forward again until she had a rhythm going and had him responding to her.

"Ari…uh…" He whispered, sucking on her neck. He moved up to her mouth, kissing her hard.

She tasted his tongue and kept rocking her hips on him, letting him guide her with his hands now gripping her thighs.

"Joey…" she whispered into his mouth. "Are you…?"

He grunted and shivered all at once, still kissing her, whimpering when she'd press against him.

They kept kissing until he calmed down. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed the tip of his nose.

"Run away with me," she said quietly, a smile on her lips.

_xxxxx_

"Listen, Quinn, you can't keep letting him call the shots. He's my cousin, yes, and I love him, but he can't be running around with that Katy-slut while he's still married to you," Kourtney said the next morning at the daycare before they opened for business. "I drove by The Jungle or whatever it is that he and Finn are doing and saw her practically draped all over Sam last night. Disgusting!"

The words stung Quinn. He had hooked up with the other woman after they talked on the porch.

"I know that, Kourt, it's just something we either need to try to work out or just move on. I'm not sure I'm ready to move on…and I don't think he's sure either," Quinn said, walking through the rooms to make sure all the books and toys were in place and clean. She inspected the children's restrooms and eating areas and kitchenette. She even tested the smoke alarms.

"You might want to tell him to keep it in his pants while you two are still together…with the kids and all," Kourtney said, following Quinn and helping her tidy up the playrooms.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll tell him."

The thought bothered her, and she retreated to the office to go over some paperwork to get her mind off Sam.

_xxxxx_

Sam took one last walk-through of The Jungle along with Finn. Sam chose a navy blue suit and white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, no tie. Finn dressed similarly but in a black suit. They were going to be open from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m. most nights, Sundays and Mondays closed. All their staff was hired from local colleges, a total of 22 people. They had two groups of people who rotated their hours.

They started on the upper floor…the dance floor and karaoke setup. Finn checked the table arrangements, video monitors, and microphones; Sam checked the sound system. Their dee-jay assured them that he was ready to spin.

The middle floor contained six bowling alleys, pool tables, and video games. Two college guys were running the floor for them to take care of any issues. They checked different things and it was all ready to go.

On the ground floor, they checked with their hostess, floor manager, bartender, cook staff, and wait staff. The menu only consisted of appetizer type foods and small sandwiches and typical drinks. The tables were set and ready. The lighting was perfect. The exterior of the building had green lights encased next to the windows, which were all tinted and cordoned off in the inside. Tiny green lights lined the large semi-circular window, and they had hung green vines inside, along with little stuffed monkeys. Guests could request to dine next to the big window and choose a monkey (Finn's idea).

Things were in place, and, at 7 p.m. they opened their doors to their first customers. Business was brisk that first night. Sam and Finn decided to stay until 4 a.m. that first night to see how things went. From 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., the joint was empty and their staff cleaning up. Sam finally made it home by 4:30 a.m. … just as his oldest son left town, headed south, with Finn's daughter.


	8. Chapter 8

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG_

Sam rolled over in bed, shoving a pillow over his head to drown out the noise. _Who did construction at this time of the morning?_ he thought to himself, his head aching. The champagne had flowed freely during opening night of Finn's club...a club that Sam somehow got roped into being a partner of but had appreciated the distraction. The crowd had been fairly intense early on but thinned out as the evening wore on. Finn was in his element, though, spending most of his time on the third floor, singing. At one point, when Sam had wandered upstairs, Finn pulled him on stage to sing _Welcome to the Jungle_ with him. It was decided that that would be their theme song from that point forward. Now, in bed and hung over, Sam started humming the song.

_we've got fun and games...if you got the money honey we got your disease..._

_BANG BANG BANG BANG..._

_Sam wake up dammit!_

_Who was screaming outside his apartment?_

His phone buzzed on the bed...he was laying on it. He fished it out from under his ass and looked at the screen, then pushed himself to sitting.

_Get your ass up!_ it read. From Quinn.

"Shit..." he mumbled, lying back down. "Too early."

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG_

_What the hell is her problem?_ he thought, curling up in the blankets. His phone buzzed again. He opened one eye to read the message.

_Joey's in jail_

That got his attention. He threw the phone on the floor and pulled the quilt around him and stumbled as quickly as possible to the door of his apartment just as Quinn started banging again.

"Okay! Okay! God, stop that knocking," he said, unlocking the door. As soon as the door unlatched, she pushed her way in.

"How can you not answer your phone, Sam Evans? This is about Joseph, your firstborn...or do you even remember you have children?" she screeched.

He held his head in his hands. "God, please Quinn, stop screaming. And don't say shit to me about the kids. What's going on?"

She had been pacing around his living room, mumbling about irresponsibility and kids acting out and someone being an asshole. She then stopped, facing him, hands on her hips.

"While you were enjoying opening night at your _establishment_, your eldest son ran away," she started.

Sam's jaw dropped open. "Oh god...with Ari?"

Then Quinn's jaw dropped. "You _knew_?"

"No...I didn't _know_ they would run away...I knew he wanted to date her but Finn said no," Sam mumbled, rubbing his temples. "What do you mean he's in jail?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me...when did this happen...how long have you known?" She groaned. "Never mind all that right now. I called the police this morning when I realized he was gone...they found them...in Georgia."

"Wait...you didn't know he was missing until this morning? How did he get out of the house then? Were you even there?" Sam asked.

She chuckled. "Oh, I was there, Samuel...you, however, were not. He snuck out while we were all sleeping. And, they got married."

"Oh my god," Sam said, sitting down. "Let me get dressed and I'll go to bail him out. What charges are they holding them on?"

"Um, no. No one is bailing him out. He's going to sit in that jail cell and think about what he's done," Quinn said, literally putting her foot down. She sighed. "No charges. I told them to hold them until we picked them up; they said that wasn't a problem."

Sam stared at her. "I'm not letting Joey sit in jail for doing something dumb, not illegal. How did they even get married?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Fake IDs, Sam. They've been planning this for awhile, apparently. Applied for the license, then drove down there and got hitched."

"Down where in Georgia?"

She laughed. "I'm not telling you! You'll go get him out of jail and he needs to learn from this! No, I'm not telling you. You didn't tell me about him and Ari so I'm not telling you where he's at."

"Fine. I'll call Finn."

"Finn doesn't know either. Rachel and I will go get them when we're ready. They have to hold them until a parent or guardian shows up," Quinn told him, finally sitting down next to Sam. "I just don't know how or why this happened. We must truly suck at being parents."

Sam calmed down a bit. He rubbed her knee a bit. "C'mon, we're not failures...they're just kids, doing crazy things like all kids do."

She shook her head, staring at his hand on her knee. "I should've been more aware...I should've heard him sneak out...I should've heard Ari's car."

"Don't blame yourself...they made a mistake and, as much as I don't agree with you, what you want to do is probably the right thing. And, maybe he should stay here for awhile."

She looked at Sam in disbelief. "When would you be here to watch him, Sam?"

"I'll make the time, Quinn. I'm not a complete loser like you think," he retorted. "I'm getting dressed. When are you leaving?"

She sighed. "We're going tomorrow…let them stew a bit longer. Kourtney has the others. The marriage isn't legal; it'll be annulled."

Sam stopped on the way to his bedroom and shook his head. "I told Finn not to say no, that it would just drive them to something like this. But, nope, no one listens to me."

"Sam, jesus, why would you say that? Why do you make me out to be the bad guy?"

"Well, Quinn, I tried to talk to you about the farm countless times and you pretty much ignored me. I'd talk about the kids and you'd act like you were listening and you weren't paying one damn bit of attention. I told you my idea for what to do for the girls for their birthday…remember?"

She stared at him blankly. She didn't remember.

"See…that's exactly what I mean," Sam said quietly. "I thought they'd like to go see the National Cheerleading Competition in Nashville. A lot of dance and gymnastics type stuff…"

She looked up at Sam from where she sat, seeing past the stubble and messy hair to the boy he once was…the father of her kids. She smiled weakly.

"Yeah, they'd love that." She stood up and walked to the door. "I need to figure out how to pass the time today and not worry about Joseph and try to somehow know what to say to him. I just don't know, Sam."

"Then let me go with you…let me talk to him…"

She felt defeated. She opened the door and said, "I'll let you know."

_xxxxx_

"What exactly were you thinking, Joseph Aaron?" Quinn demanded once she had her son in her arms. "You had me worried to death!"

"God, Mom, just nothing. Where's Ari?" Joseph asked, tugging himself away from her grip. They were standing in the lobby of the jail in Rome, Georgia.

"She's with her parents...now, you need to-"

"How could you leave us sit in this stinkin' jail? Do you hate us that much?"

"C'mon, Joe, don't talk that way to your mother-"

"And where were you? At your _club_? You _knew_ I liked Ari...what's the big deal if we go out, for god's sake? I just don't get this shit!"

"Listen, son, it's not my decision whether or not you can date Arielle; that's up to her parents and you heard what Finn said. He's her father and he makes those decisions. You two are way too young to be running off...to another state, jesus...and _getting married_? Is there something you're not telling us, Joseph?" Sam asked, his hands on Joseph's shoulders, holding him in place.

"What're you talking about? We got married because we _love_ each other! Like you and mom did ages ago."

"It's going to be annulled, Joseph. You're just lucky Finn doesn't know where you two are or else he'd kill you-" Quinn interjected.

"What?! No! It is not being annulled! Where is she? I need to talk to her!" Joseph shot out the doors of the jail to the parking lot. Sam fired Quinn an angry look and followed Joseph. His son was scanning the parking lot for any sign of Rachel and Arielle.

"Joe, c'mere...we'll talk about this more at home...Rach already picked up Ari...they're gone..."

His son turned toward him at those words, tears in his eyes. "How could you let me down, Dad? All I want is her."

"We'll talk at-" Before Sam realized it, Joseph slugged him, hitting him in the nose.

"Jesus Joseph!" Sam doubled over, cupping his nose.

He heard Quinn scream from behind him and then saw her run past him to Joseph.

"Joey, you need to calm down. Your Dad was telling you that you could talk to her at home. You don't need to hit him or anyone over this. Get a grip, son!" She had grabbed his arms, and he stared at her, anger darkening his blue eyes. She saw something switch in him, and he looked so much like Sam. Suddenly, he was at Sam's side, helping him up, apologizing. Quinn found some napkins in her purse and shoved them at Joseph who gave them to Sam.

"I'm really sorry, Dad...I didn't mean to...just this whole mess..." Joseph mumbled, his voice breaking on the last word. Sam took him in his arms, hugging him tightly. Sam caught Quinn's gaze over Joseph's shoulder and raised his eyebrows. This was all new territory for both of them.

"I understand, Joey. Let's go home, okay?" Sam said, putting his arm around Joseph's shoulders and walking him to Quinn's SUV. He had the keys and opened the doors for both Quinn and Joseph, then climbed behind the wheel. "You know, someday we'll all laugh about this."

Quinn looked at him dubiously. Sam was still dabbing at his nostril with the napkin. She asked him if he thought it was broken. He looked at her.

"Uh...no..."

"You and Mom came here together?" Joseph asked once seated in the back.

Sam and Quinn looked at one another. "Well, yeah." Sam replied, backing out of the parking spot. "Why wouldn't we?"

Joseph shrugged. "You two aren't talking so I just figured..."

"You kids always come first, Joey...I told you that," Sam said. "Anyone hungry? I'm starving. And my nose hurts."

Quinn giggled and Joseph laughed out loud along with Sam.

He drove them to a restaurant where they could sit down and relax. Quinn stepped back from the nagging and questioning and just observed Sam with Joseph. He listened to Joseph tell them about his and Ari's plot to be together, then how they realized they'd need more money than what they had, and, pointedly, he mentioned that there was no reason they _had_ to get married and that the marriage had not even been...and he got hung up on the word _consummated_. He blushed fiercely, much like Sam did as a kid, but neither Sam nor Quinn laughed at him. Inwardly, Quinn was relieved...no babies...they hadn't even had the opportunity to make the marriage a true union apparently. Joseph related the story of leaving the courthouse to find a hotel when Arielle was pulled over for having a brake light out. Sam didn't berate Joseph or question him too much about the whole ordeal...instead he asked him if he or Quinn had done something to provoke them into running away. He made light comments at just the right times to draw Joseph out and talk to them. And Sam actually listened to his son and responded, offering suggestions and advice, not treating him like a little kid but more like a young man. Quinn had always loved the father in Sam, since the night Joseph had entered the world.

"Finn and Rachel will never let me see Arielle again after this," Joseph said, picking at his food. "She's my best friend...what am I gonna do?"

Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked to his father. Quinn could almost feel the hormones crashing within him, and her heart ached. She remembered it being such a confusing and sometimes irritating time but then she had had Sam and they pretty much got through the growing pains together.

"Joe, I know it hurts, but you have to abide by Finn's wishes, for the time being," she said quietly.

"Your Mom's right, son. Show Finn some respect, for him and Rachel _and_ for Arielle and things have a way of working themselves out. Patience is key," Sam added, smiling at Joseph, then Quinn.

For the briefest of moments, Quinn felt as if they were a family again…nothing wrong between her and Sam, no problems with Joseph, just the three of them enjoying lunch. She truly enjoyed watching Sam with their children, how he related to them, as a friend and as a father. There had to be a way to work out their issues. She was stubborn, though, and wasn't about to make the first move.

"We better head back, Sam. It'll be late by the time we return," Quinn said finally after Sam and Joseph had spent some time catching up.

"Sure…" Sam looked at Joseph. "Your Mom's right. Hey, maybe you could stay with me for awhile? You're out of school…you could help me on the farm…"

"Your new business venture, Sam…you won't be home at night," Quinn reminded him.

"No, I'm only required to be there for special functions now…or unless I just want to be there," Sam told her. "Maybe Joey could stay with me for a week, then Jasper, then the girls?"

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea, Sam-" Quinn started.

"Mom, please...it'd be cool..." Joseph interrupted, a whine at the edge of his voice. "Please..."

She sighed and considered her options. Finally, she acquiesced. "We can try it..."

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks! I was taking an Anatomy & Physiology class online, had 15 weeks to complete it but needed to finish it in like 6 weeks...got it done! Also, me and my family are taking off for spring break so there will probably be more delays. However, I'll try to keep writing while we're on the road. Thanks as always for reading! :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

"So, we have a bit of an issue..." Rachel said to the group of 6, including herself, Finn, Sam, Quinn, Joseph, and Arielle. They finally decided, a couple days after springing their kids from jail, to meet over dinner and figure out what was going to happen. They met on somewhat neutral ground...at The Jungle, before it opened for business that day. When they first arrived, Arielle had rushed into Joseph's arms, as they had not seen each other since their arrest. Finn's face turned beet red, Sam noticed, so he pulled Joseph away from her. Sam shot Finn a look as if to say _they're just kids_.

"We're all friends here...Joey and Ari, you've known each other since you were, well, babies. We're happy that you're still such close friends. With that being said, getting married at age 15 is just a childish thing to do. Were you trying to get our attention? If so, it worked. Sam and I really don't mind if you date..._just_ date for now...what about you?" Quinn said, looking to Rachel and Finn.

"Annulled." Finn mumbled at the same time Rachel said "I'm okay with them dating."

"This definitely needs to be annulled. You kids have no idea what you've done here," Sam said, siding a bit with Finn. "Like Quinn said, I'm okay with dating...but, after this stunt, there's gonna have to be some ground rules."

Joseph and Arielle both groaned.

"We're filing the paperwork tomorrow through our attorney." Finn said curtly. Turning suddenly to Joseph, he demanded, "Was this your idea? Run away with my little girl and get _married_?"

Joseph, now on the spot, blushed and stammered a few words of apology.

"Daddy! Don't be so hateful! It wasn't Joey's idea...it was mine. Can't you all see? We _love_ each other!" Arielle cried to the table of adults. "And I don't want an annulment."

Everyone started talking at once...this should've never happened, there needs to be rules, annulment, so in love with her, how could you do this to us? Finally, Finn stood up.

"It's final...I've made my decision and there will be an annulment. And…no dating." He turned and walked briskly to the kitchen. All eyes turned to Sam.

"Maybe you can talk to him, Sam," Rachel said, now trying to comfort a sobbing Arielle.

Sam sighed and followed Finn to the kitchen. There, he found Finn holding a clipboard, checking inventory. Finn heard the swoosh of the swinging door and looked up. He smiled at Sam, as if nothing was wrong.

"Dude, hey. I can't believe how many nachos we've went through. This first week has been really good business-wise-"

"Finn...Arielle is out there crying her eyeballs out. Will you at least let them talk to each other? Maybe they can spend time together with, uh, a chaperone...I don't know. What I do know is we have two depressed kids out there who, in my opinion, truly do like one another. I just think it's maybe a good thing if they are friends. I don't think we should be so quick to come between them," Sam said, his thoughts all jumbled.

Finn chuckled. "So, you're ready to be a grandfather, Sam? I'm not. And I'm pretty sure neither one of those kids are ready to be a parent-"

"Dude, it's not about that at all. Joey told us nothing happened between them...nothing has happened like that. The marriage was never consummated. Did Arielle tell you that?"

Finn shrugged. "She might've told Rach; she's not speaking to me really."

"At some point, we're gonna have to trust them, you know, and let them grow up."

Finn groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'm not ready for her to grow up yet, Sam! Also, I don't think they should be let off the hook so easily for pulling this god-awful stunt."

"I agree! I'm just thinking if we keep locking them up and not letting them at least communicate, they'll do something like this again and we won't be so lucky as to find them. Maybe just think about it?" Sam asked him.

Finn sighed heavily. "Fine...I'll _think_ about it. That's all I'm giving them right now."

Sam smiled. "Listen, Joey is staying with me for the next week or so. Maybe we can spend some time with him, you know, you can get a feel for how he treats your daughter. I still say they should grounded for, I don't know, 2 weeks?"

"Two weeks, yeah. Arielle will be turning 16 then; she's been talking about finding a job," Finn told him.

"Well, that'll give them less time together, I suppose," Sam said, throwing his arm around Finn's shoulders though it was awkward since Finn was still about 4 inches taller than him. "C'mon...go make your daughter happy."

Finn returned to the dining area, still a bit grudgingly.

"Grounded, 2 weeks. Then…and only then…you two can…date…with supervision," Finn told Arielle, looking from her to Joseph then to Rachel and Quinn.

She squealed and ran to Joseph who took her in his arms.

"That goes for you too," Sam added, though he doubted Joseph heard him.

The four adults stood around awkwardly as Joseph held the tiny Arielle in his arms, then shyly kissed her on the cheek. With that, Finn walked up to them.

"Phone, Arielle," he said, trying to use his firm voice. He held out his hand.

"Daddy!"

"Two weeks...no phone, no going out...I need your car keys too."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. Reluctantly, she pulled her phone and keys from her purse and handed them over. Taking a cue from Finn, Quinn walked up to Joseph.

"I'll need your phone, too, Joe," she said.

He stared her down but pulled it from his back pocket and handed it over. He then reached for Arielle's hand before Finn led her away from him. He smiled a bit at her, Sam's lopsided smile he had inherited. She wiped away the tears on her cheeks and smiled back.

Quinn turned to say something to Sam but he was obviously texting a message, so she hugged Joseph and left.

_xxxxx_

"Do you want to know or not?" Rachel asked Quinn a couple days after the meeting of the minds at The Jungle.

Quinn sighed. "Tell me."

"I saw him going into the salon and leaving with Katy," she said quietly. "His arm was around her waist."

Quinn's cheeks were on fire; she fought hard to keep the tears from falling. "Thanks for letting me know," she whispered. She grabbed her phone and sent a message.

_Would you like to join me for dinner?_

The reply was _very much so_.

Later that evening, Quinn cornered her twins. "How's dance and gymnastics going, girls? I think I might come watch you next week."

"Great, Mom! I'm working on a beam routine for the jamboree," Jasmine told her.

"Jamboree? Your father didn't mention it," Quinn replied, her brow wrinkling.

"It's in 2 weeks...will you be there?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it!" Quinn said happily. "Now, tell me, is Miss Katy helping you a lot with your routines?"

The girls looked at one another, sharing a glance of conspirators.

"She helps us a little," Juliet told her.

Jasmine blurted out, "She talks to Daddy a lot."

Quinn smiled but was biting the inside of her lip. "A lot?"

"Yes, before and after practice. She smiles at him a lot, too. I think he kissed her on the cheek," Juliet spilled.

"Okay..." Quinn sighed, resigned. "I wanted to tell you that we'll be having a dinner guest tomorrow night so you should be on your best behavior."

"A dinner guest?" they both asked her.

Quinn nodded. "My friend Adam is joining us for dinner."

_xxxxx_

"It's been a good week, ya think?" Sam asked Joseph, loading up this stuff in his truck, preparing to take him home and pick up Jasper.

"It's been cool..." They had spent nearly the entire time together, playing video games, working on the farm, stopping in at The Jungle, doing stuff around town. One afternoon, Sam had to bail on Joseph as he had received a message from Katy to meet her at her sister's salon. They had been talking again, and Sam felt the stirrings of attraction that had made him run from her before. He couldn't deny it...hanging out with a younger girl who was totally into him, hanging on his every word, so full of life and energy...he had been missing that from Quinn and now this girl was providing it all. He had driven her home that day and before he realized what happened she leaned over to him, kissing him softly on the lips. He hated himself when he realized he was kissing her back. He mumbled something about needing to get back to Joseph and practically shoved her out of his truck. She kept texting him and he kept texting back, knowing it was wrong but not wanting to stop.

"So, you think I can have my phone back now?" Joseph asked him as they drove toward the farm.

Sam laughed. "You'll have to ask your Mom. My guess is she'll say _no_." Joseph rolled his eyes.

Sam turned down the drive to the farm, passing the daycare, then pulling up to the house, noting a strange vehicle sitting there, a newer hybrid. Sam stared at it, wondering whose it was...it was not familiar to him. Joseph pulled his stuff from the truck and headed up to the porch.

"Yum...spaghetti..." he said, picking up the scent on the air. Sam followed him inside. Voices were coming from the dining room...happy, laughing. Quinn had heard the front door so she met them at the dining room.

"Just in time, Joey! We just sat down for dinner. Jasp, are you ready?" she asked.

"Yep..." He picked up his duffel bag.

"Hello Sam. How was your week with Joseph?" she asked him.

He was in a state of stupor after seeing Adam sitting in _his_ seat at the table, laughing and talking to his girls.

"I didn't realize you had company, Quinn. Let's go, Jasper," Sam said in a huff, turning on his heel to leave with Jasper close behind. Quinn followed them to the front door.

"Samuel, do you want to stay-"

"No, Quinn, I don't. Enjoy your dinner date."

Jasper looked back and forth between his parents, then hugged Quinn and followed Sam to his truck. The truck's engine roared to life once Jasper was belted in, then he spun the tires and shot off down the lane, spraying the porch and Adam's car with gravel.

_xxxxx_

"Dinner was delicious, Quinn. Thank you again for inviting me over," Adam said to Quinn. They sat on the back deck, watching the stars shine.

She smiled over to him. "I'm glad you could come over, Adam."

"I just have a question..." he said, tracing a finger down her arm. "Did you invite me over to make Sam angry?"

"What? No!" she sputtered. Then, "Maybe. I found out he's been seeing this girl again...after he told me he wasn't."

"Would you mind a bit of advice? Coming from one who's been there?" he asked.

She waited.

"My ex-wife and I went through this same thing...friends on the side business...and, well, it tore up our marriage," he said. "To be very honest with you Quinn, I've wanted to ask you out since you told me he left you and the kids. You're still technically married though, so I don't want to push any boundaries...I really like you and enjoy spending time with you. Maybe it's time you considered seeing an attorney."

She sucked in her breath. "That would make it official then."

"A legal separation...put things in writing. We didn't jump into divorce, but the separation gave us some freedom we needed. If the separation doesn't work out, you go back to him. If you two find that it's for the best, then go through with the divorce. That's my advice," he said. She remained quiet. "Neither one of you should be seeing other people, though, until you're separated."

She reached for Adam's hand. "Thank you, for being honest. I'm just so confused and angry and sad."

"This kind of thing is never easy, Quinn, not for anyone...you, him, or the kids," Adam added.

Later, when she walked him to his car, she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him softly on the lips. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

_xxxxx_

"How's things with Mara?" Sam asked Jasper on the way back to his apartment. Inside, he was fuming. He could not believe Quinn had had that man in his house...rubbing it in his face. He also could not believe how jealous he felt...it was nearly consuming him. He often wondered why Quinn didn't seem more bothered by him and Katy; she acted like it was no big deal.

"Not bad...maybe I can-can have her over for-for..." Jasper told him haltingly. "Supper."

Sam smiled, wishing this conversation would take his mind off Adam sitting at his table in his chair.

"Sure, son...great idea," Sam replied, clapping the boy on the shoulder. "Hey, Jasp, did it, uh, bother you that Mom had Adam over for dinner tonight?"

Jasper looked at Sam and shrugged. "Nope. He's kinda funny."

"Sounds like your sessions are going good; your speech seems improved."

"They say-said it is-a little," Jasper answered.

"It sounds great. Adam must be doing a good job with you. You know what? You've been going there for how long now?"

"Uh...elev-eleven years..."

"Good god, time flies! What would you say to taking a break for a bit? Or maybe do speech therapy at school?"

Jasper shrugged. "Fine with me."

_xxxxx_

"You did _what_?" Quinn whispered angrily into her phone.

"Pulled Jasper out of therapy. I don't see the need for it anymore. I contacted the school so he could see the school speech therapist _twice_ a week," Sam told her. "So, you won't have to take him to see Adam anymore."

"Are you kidding me, Sam? Jasper _needs_ that therapy!"

"No, I'm not kidding you, Quinn. I think _you_ need to see Adam and that's why Jasper still goes. Jasper's speech has been fine the entire time he's been with me. When school starts, he'll see the therapist there two times a week, an hour each time. It'll be after school, and I'll pick him up so there's nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about. Also, there won't be a conflict of interest now between Adam helping Jasper and Adam helping you. You're free to see him as you please." Sam hung up his phone. His heart was pounding; he couldn't believe he had just spoken to Quinn in that manner.

Quinn stared at her phone, then dialed Rachel.

"I need the name of your lawyer, Rach..."

_xxxxx_

The week with Jasper passed by quickly, too quickly in Sam's opinion. He loved hanging out with his kids, with all four of them at once or just one-on-one. He was able to observe them and see how their unique personalities were developing. Unique but not so unique...Joey loved to read like his mother, Jasper loved music like him, and the twins showed traits of both him and Quinn.

During the week, Jasper's friend Maragold had come over for dinner. She was a sweet young lady with whom Sam could tell Jasper was entranced by. She had chestnut brown curls and a few tiny freckles crossing her nose. Her blue eyes were piercing. They had become friends in Finn's music class and planned on joining the school's Glee Club the next year. They had had a nice dinner with Sam using Quinn's spaghetti sauce recipe. Sam and Jasper drove her home, and Sam watched Jasper walk her to her door. They shared the briefest of hugs, then Jasper ran back to the truck.

On the drive back to Sam's apartment, Jasper asked him questions...questions that Sam intuitively knew were coming.

"So, you and Mom...how did you m-meet?"

Sam and Quinn had told their kids this story time and time again but they never really _wanted_ to know until they were in the same position.

Sam chuckled. "Much like you and Mara...Glee Club. We sang a duet for a competition. We won and the prize was a dinner at this restaurant..."

"Breadstix..."

Sam laughed; maybe the kids did listen to them. "Yeah, that was the place. She was in her Cheerios uniform and I did some dumb impression to try to make her laugh...it didn't work."

"Chee-cheerios?"

"Her cheerleading outfit. She made me pay for that meal...said that a gentleman always pays on the first date. I didn't even know it was a date!"

Jasper laughed.

"So, yeah, it was fun..." Sam's words drifted off as he brought up some of those memories from long ago.

They began talking about Glee Club and how it had changed over the years and how it had stayed the same. When Sam pulled up to his house, he was happy to not see Adam's hybrid.

He hugged Jasper goodbye. "I had a lot of fun, Jasp. I'll talk to you soon." He let him run into the house and he followed him up to the porch where he was met by Quinn. She had a grim look on her face.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

She handed him a large brown envelope and bit her lip. "Those papers are for you, Sam. You can either sign them or take them to a lawyer...I don't care which. You said we should make it official...so...I did." She then hollered for the twins who bounded up to the door. She hugged and kissed them and turned them over to Sam, then shut the door.

He said hello to his daughters and told them to throw their stuff in the bed of the truck. He opened the envelope with much hesitation and the words hit him: _Petition for Dissolution of Marriage_.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks! There's more where this came from...don't go anywhere...lol! :))**


	10. Chapter 10

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD. I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Sam tried hard to concentrate on his daughters' constant chatter that night. He had a Disney movie on TV for them to watch and pizza to eat. He sat on his couch, blindly staring at the TV, sipping on a beer. The large brown envelope sitting on his kitchen table seemed to be mocking him.

He texted Finn and told him what Quinn had given him. Finn asked what had pushed her over the edge. He also told Sam that the lawyer Quinn had retained was the same one Rachel had had.

After a couple hours of pouting, Sam finally sent Quinn a one-word text. _Why?_

_To make it official_, she replied quickly, as if she had been waiting for him to make a move.

_Why?_ he asked again.

_Ask katy._

He sighed. He also noticed how she deliberately didn't capitalize Katy's name.

_Is this because of J's therapy?_

_Absolutely not._

Five seconds later, she sent another text: _Maybe_.

Nothing else was said between them that evening. He set up the girls on the futon in his living room, leaving a nightlight on for them, then retired to his room. He lay in the darkness, thinking of what this meant and how it changed everything. Yeah, it was dumb for him to cancel Jasper's therapy without asking Quinn first. Yeah, it was dumb to be spending time with Katy. His mind was so topsy-turvy...he thought he might be able to talk to Quinn when she returned from her New York City trip, then the thing with Joseph happened, then Adam was at his house having dinner...it all just pushed him too far. Maybe it was the lack of being close to someone, as he and Quinn had once been. Used to, it had taken nothing but a glance or a touch to convey one another's feelings and they'd be locked in an embrace at the first opportunity. He wasn't even sure when that stopped happening. He rubbed his head. With Katy, though, he had never felt that closeness, that intimacy, as what he had had with Quinn. Oh, there had been plenty of times when she had come on to him but he had turned her down every single time. The need to share his innermost thoughts with Katy was just not present as it had been with Quinn. He was pretty sure that he was not the only guy Katy was seeing; she was getting her loving from someone else. He had nothing…except his kids and his farm. His thoughts turned to Quinn...was she finding that kind of intimacy with Adam? He wanted to believe her that things had not progressed that far with another man, but it was especially difficult to turn the other cheek when he saw the other man sitting in his home enjoying dinner, enjoying time with Quinn. It must be happening, then, for her to see a lawyer and have the divorce papers drawn up. It couldn't be anything else. He tossed and turned the rest of that night, really not sleeping at all.

_xxxxx_

"So, your birthday is coming up soon...any ideas on what you wanna do?" Sam asked the girls at breakfast the next morning. He had made them pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. He already had the plans in place for their birthday surprise. Katy had actually helped him with that. The National Cheerleading Competition was happening in Nashville the weekend of their birthday so he was taking them there. He had contemplated asking Quinn to go but had scratched that idea. Katy would be there assisting the team from TTC so she'd suffice as a female companion.

Both girls started in at once, on things they wanted, places they wanted to see. Most of it was crazy stuff...Juliet wanted to go to New York City like Quinn had done ("Maybe Aunt Rach can take me?"). Jasmine wanted to go to Hollywood ("Where the Yelling Goats are playing!"). They talked about wanting makeup, perfume, a new computer, new bikes, new clothes, new shoes, new phones...Juliet even mentioned wanting to go on a date. Sam cringed at that idea.

"Would you girls like to go on a date with me? A Daddy date?" he asked.

"Really? Somewhere fancy?" Jasmine asked. Their full attention was focused on him.

"We could go somewhere fancy for dinner but then I have a surprise for afterward," he told them.

"Mom always said that a boy has to ask us on a date _properly_," Juliet said, pouting. "That wasn't very proper, Daddy."

He smiled. He loved those two girls with all his heart.

"She's right. I shall ask you _properly_ then...soon," he told them. "Now, finish breakfast and we'll start our day."

"You'll have to ask us soon...our birthday is in like 13 days!" Jasmine reminded him. As if he could forget.

_Quinn had been huge at the end of that pregnancy. They of course knew she was carrying twins but had decided to be surprised with their gender at the birth. Joseph was 7 at the time, Jasper 6, and both boys were very interested in whether they were having brothers, sisters, or one of each. There were so many talks with their sons about what to expect with new babies in the house. With anticipation as big as Quinn's belly, her due date came and went. It was the end of July and she just wanted it over with. Another discussion was birth control. Would Sam get a vasectomy? Would Quinn have her tubes tied? They were still discussing that when her labor kicked in with little warning the first day of August. They were standing around in the kitchen preparing a light supper since it was so hot out, with Finn and Rachel and their kids and Kourtney and Ryan and their kids, when Quinn put both her hands on her rounded belly and moaned. Her water had broken and was pooling at her feet. Everyone shot into action then...the girls helping Quinn to the SUV, the men rounding up the kids to keep an eye on them, Sam rushing off for the hospital bag. He had driven into Belle Meade like a bat out of hell...mainly because Quinn was gripping the dashboard, doubled over in pain. Ten minutes after arriving at the hospital, Juliet was born...then Jasmine made her appearance 3 minutes later. It had happened so fast. They were so, so tiny in his arms. At first, he was terrified to hold them both at once, but he learned quickly._

_His daughters were pink-skinned at birth and seemingly so fragile, both with spiky brown hair, and completely identical. They had heard of other parents of identical twins using nail polish on the babies' pinky toes to keep track of who was who. So, Quinn chose pink for Juliet and Sam chose purple for Jasmine. Sam also chose Jasmine's name, the Disney princess from the movie Aladdin that he and Quinn loved so many years ago. Quinn chose Juliet because, to her, it was romantic. Both girls shared Grace as a middle name. His and Quinn's life was pretty much idyllic after the birth of the girls. They didn't discuss permanent birth control again, and Quinn just continued with the birth control shot every 3 months. The boys had been pretty much in awe of their sisters at first and were a big help to Sam and Quinn, even though Sam and Quinn knew now that they were outnumbered by their kids._

Thinking about when the twins were born, Sam realized that that was probably the last time he had felt intimately close to Quinn...during those early months while trying to get everyone on a schedule. Looking back, it had gone remarkably smoothly, he thought, until the girls became mobile toddlers. Then, it was every man for himself in the house. He pinpointed that time as to the time when he and Quinn began growing apart.

"Daddy?" Jasmine asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Don't forget to ask us properly, 'kay?"

"I won't forget, ladies," he said, taking in their gaze of him, nothing but love in their eyes.

Later during his week with the girls, they participated in a jamboree at their gym, putting on demonstrations of their dance and gymnastics skills for family, friends, and the community. Quinn attended with Joseph and Jasper, and Adam. Sam glared at her, then they both ignored one another completely.

_xxxxx_

He handed the envelope back to Quinn when he dropped off the girls.

"Not signing it," he said bluntly and turned to leave.

"Wait...what?" she called after him, following him to his truck, dropping the envelope on the porch. "I thought you wanted to make it official?"

He turned to face her. "I wanted to make if official if you're going to be fucking Adam under my roof-"

She slapped him across the face hard. He knew he deserved it. Hot tears sprung up in her eyes as she glared at him.

"How dare you even suggest that something like that has happened, Sam Evans! I was not the one breaking things you treasured and then running off to another woman's arms...that was _you_!" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You think what you do in this town is invisible? You're not some superhero like your comic books...oh no...people talk, Sam, especially people who live with Katy! I've let this go on long enough...you'll be hearing from my lawyer. Until then, seeing the kids is off limits."

She turned to get back into the house and he grabbed her arm. "You're not taking my kids away from me, Quinn Fabray. I won't allow it. If this is how you want to do it, then fine, we'll do it. I will see my kids though...you can't stop me."

The tears were now streaming down her face, but she chuckled. "We'll see about that, Sam. Goodbye." In a final fit of rage, she slid her wedding and engagement rings off, plus the family ring with all their birthstones, and slammed them in his hand. He looked at them, then her, slack-jawed.

Only later, after hearing him peel out of the driveway, did she realize he had called her by her maiden name.

_xxxxx_

The next day, Sam went to see the lawyer Finn had used for his divorce. Finn called in a favor and was able to get Sam in quickly. The information he received there was mind boggling. He left with a folder of stuff to read over and a list of documents, mostly financial, that he needed to compile. He went ahead and signed the papers for legal separation so that there would be a court order in place for how often he could see his children.

From the attorney's office, he walked to the nearby flower shop. He ordered a large bouquet of pink and purple tulips and other various flowers contained in a white wicker basket for his daughters. His note read: _I would be most honored if Juliet Grace and Jasmine Grace Evans would accompany me on a special evening out to celebrate their 9th birthday. All my love, Daddy_

The next stop was the bank. He opened his safe deposit box and dropped in Quinn's wedding rings and his own wedding band; he wore the family ring on his right pinky finger. Then, he went to the jewelry shop. He chose two identical necklaces with heart-shaped peridot gemstones on dainty gold chains for his daughters. He saw the class ring display and took a picture with his phone and sent it to Joseph and Jasper...Sam had never had a class ring but his kids would. After the jewelry store, he ended his errand-running at The Jungle to talk to Finn. He found Finn upstairs in the karaoke lounge.

"Hey, man...how did the meeting go with Dave?" Finn asked him.

"Just the usual, I guess. He gave me a folder full of shit I need to go through," Sam mumbled.

"Yeah...so much paperwork...like buying a freakin' house," Finn replied. "Check out this set-up!"

Finn showed him some new lights that had been installed, facing the direction of the stage. Now, whoever was singing could have a small light show with their performance.

"Cool..."

"You wanna try it out? You haven't been on stage yet," Finn said, going to the karaoke system to find a song. "Here's a good one…I've been wanting to try it out…"

Sam wandered up to the stage and picked up a microphone. Finn set the lights on red, then the music, then joined him.

"I'll sing the chorus with you..." Finn said, shrugging one shoulder. Sam turned the microphone on and watched the screen. When he saw the words, he let Finn do the chorus by himself.

_In the night I hear 'em talk,  
the coldest story ever told,  
Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul_

_To a woman so heartless..._  
_How could you be so heartless?_  
_How could you be so heartless?_

Sam then picked up the rap lyrics:

_How could you be so cold?  
As the winter wind when it breeze yo  
Just remember that you talkin' to me though  
You need to watch the way you talkin' to me though._

_I mean after all the things that we've been through_  
_I mean after all the things we got into_  
_Hey yo, I know of some things that you ain't told me_  
_Hey yo, I did some things but that's the old me._

_And now you wanna get me back and you gon' show me_  
_So you walk around like you don't know me_  
_You got a new friend, well I got homies_  
_But in the end it's still so lonely..._

The more he sang, the more he got into it and joined Finn on the chorus...

_In the night I hear 'em talk,  
the coldest story ever told,  
Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul_

_To a woman so heartless..._  
_How could you be so heartless?_  
_How could you be so heartless?_

_How could you be so Dr. Evil?_  
_You're bringin' out a side of me that I don't know_  
_I decided we wasn't goin' speak so_  
_Why we up 3 a.m. on the phone?_

_Why does she be so mad at me for?_  
_Homie, I don't know, she's hot and cold_  
_I won't stop, won't mess my groove up_  
_'Cause I already know how this thing go._

_You run and tell your friends that you're leavin' me_  
_They say that they don't see what you see in me_  
_You wait a couple months then you gon' see_  
_You'll never find nobody better than me._

Sam and Finn were both performing now. Sam felt like he was in Glee Club again. He couldn't believe the release of stress he had just from belting out the lyrics to that song.

_In the night I hear 'em talk,  
the coldest story ever told  
Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul_

_To a woman so heartless..._  
_How could you be so heartless?_  
_How could you be so heartless?_

_Talkin', talkin', talkin' talk_  
_Baby let's just knock it off_  
_They don't know what we been through_  
_They don't know 'bout me and you._

_So I got somethin' new to see_  
_And you just gon' keep hatin' me_  
_And we just gon' be enemies_  
_I know you can't believe I could just leave it wrong..._

_And you can't make it right_  
_I'm gon' take off tonight_  
_Into the night..._

The bright overhead lights suddenly came on, catching Sam and Finn in the middle of a lyric.

"Really? This is what you two call work?" a female voice called from the light panel. Both Sam and Finn shaded their eyes to see who was there.

"Oh yeah, we've pretty much heard your entire performance, boys. Bravo...bravo..." Rachel said, slow-clapping her way to the stage. "Some night Quinn and I will do a song to show you how it's _really_ done." Rachel smirked at them. Sam saw Quinn following her up to the first row of tables. He turned the microphone off and came down from the stage.

"Hey..." Quinn said to him. "Nice song."

"Finn picked it out. That's the first time I've sung on this stage. Felt good."

"Hmm...that's great," she replied. "Nice place...how's business?"

"Fair. You and Rach should come in some night and try out the karaoke...it's a pretty sick setup," he told her. She smiled a bit, looking around. "Oh, hey, I went to see a lawyer today so your lawyer should be getting some papers soon...for a legal separation." He tried to keep his voice even.

She held her breath for a moment. "Sure, great, thanks."

"You're welcome, I guess," he answered. "How're the kids?"

"Same as they were yesterday," she said, a bit coldly.

He went on to tell her about the class rings he had seen earlier, and she told him that the boys had already been talking about those.

"Oh, they never mentioned that to me." His brow wrinkled. He thought he had been doing a fairly good job at keeping up with them all.

"And Joey and Arielle have a date coming up...they're taking the girls out for their birthday..."

"Wait...what day?"

"That Saturday...why?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's the day of the cheerleading competition I'm taking them to...I told you about it! Joey and Ari are just going to have to change their plans...I have the tickets and everything for this."

She bit her lip, knowing that he was worried she'd keep the girls from him.

"I'll talk to Joseph then...they can work out some other day to take the girls out..." she said finally. A look of relief passed over his face.

"Thanks...I appreciate it," he told her and reached out and squeezed her arm without thinking. "Oh...sorry..." He pulled his hand away after she flinched.

He hadn't touched her in forever, it seemed. And she flinched, as if it hurt her to feel him.

"So...yeah..." he mumbled, unsure of what to say. She turned her attention to Finn and Rachel.

"They will have chaperones, Finn, god! You make it sound like she can't fend for herself and that Joey's an animal," Rachel was saying.

"All boys at that age are animals...you know that, Rachel. I just...I'm not ready for her to..."

Rachel rested her hand on his shoulder. "I know, Finn. I understand. I'm not ready for this either, but it's going to happen, whether we like it or not." She looked to Quinn. "And, honestly, I can't think of any other boy I'd trust with Arielle."

Quinn walked up onto the stage and looked out at the room. It did bring back memories of performing in Glee Club. Maybe she would do a song or two sometime.

"Hey, you two," she said to Finn and Rachel. "Joseph and Arielle can't take the girls out for their birthday after all; Sam is taking them somewhere special for their birthday...so, that worked out in your favor, didn't it, Finn?"

He smiled up at Quinn from where he and Rachel sat on the floor. Rachel squeezed his knee. "See, dad, it isn't all that bad."

Sam was fiddling with the music system. He turned off the overhead lights and flipped on different colors and started a song, running up to the stage. He picked up two more mics and handed them to Rachel and Quinn.

"Maybe you remember this one?"

The music for _We Are Young_ started playing. Singing a duet with Sam shouldn't have been so much fun, Quinn thought. He was right about one thing, though, they were good friends. After singing on stage, she felt totally alive. Later that night, after she told Adam that Sam had filed the paperwork for legal separation, she accepted his offer for a real date.

_xxxxx_

"Where are you taking me?" she asked Adam a few nights later. She had asked Kourtney to watch the kids for her while she went out for dinner.

"I think you'll like it...a new place in town..."

Quinn's stomach dropped when Adam pulled into the lot of The Jungle. He hopped out of the car and came around to open Quinn's door. He offered her his hand.

"I've heard really great things about this place," he said to her, holding her hand as they walked to the sidewalk to go to the front of the building. It was a Friday night, and there was actually a line.

Quinn mumbled something back to him. He led the way to the hostess, told her they had reservations, and then they were led to a table.

After being seated and ordering their drinks, Quinn asked him, "You do know who runs this place, right?"

He smiled back at her. "Oh yeah, I know."


	11. Chapter 11

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Quinn surveyed the dining room nervously, looking for any sign of Sam or Finn. Maybe they were off tonight? She really hadn't talked to Sam so she didn't know what he was doing, with the exception of taking their twin daughters out for a 'date' the next night, the girls' birthday. She didn't see any sign of the two men she knew so she focused on her menu until a completely annoying too-perky voice got her attention.

"What kin I get fer you two t'night?" Katy asked, popping her gum, a hip jutting out. When Quinn lowered her menu, Katy's eyes got huge. She cleared her throat and muttered, "Quinn."

"Hello, Katy. I see Sam has you working for him now?"

"Actually, Finn hired me...just a temporary gig. Are you coming to the cheerleading show tomorrow?" she asked, smiling like a cat about to attack. She looked from Quinn to Adam and back to Quinn again, her smile widening.

Quinn's face heated. She should've known Sam would go to something Katy was involved in.

"No...Sam will be taking the girls. They say they've learned so much from you," Quinn said to her, smiling equally as ferociously. "Like how to steal-"

"I'll just have a tenderloin, please," Adam interjected quickly, looking from Quinn to Katy.

"I'll take a salad and sweet tea," Quinn said, not taking her eyes off Katy. The conversation turned snippy.

"House dressing?"

"Please..."

Katy took their menus and said cheerfully, "Enjoy your _date_!" and dashed off.

"Is this going to affect our night out, Quinn? I had no idea she'd be here," Adam asked, reaching across the table for her hand. She forced a smile.

"Of course not," she replied, squeezing his hand, maybe not as gently as she had in the past.

_xxxxx_

Another server brought their food and refilled their drinks. At one point, Quinn thought she saw Sam around a corner but wasn't sure. As the evening wore on, the place became even busier. At around 10 p.m., karaoke began upstairs with Finn and Sam both singing _Welcome To The Jungle_. Suddenly, the entire place went from being a family-friendly business to a nightclub. Quinn and Adam had finished their desserts and were sipping their drinks, talking quietly, but with the karaoke fired up, it permeated the entire building it seemed and they gravitated upstairs toward the music.

Adam stopped her on the stairwell. "Are you going to sing, Quinn?" He pulled her closer to him.

"Maybe," she said slyly. "Are you?"

He smirked. "Maybe…"

After 10 p.m., only the second and third floors were accessible to patrons, 18 and over. There were some stragglers on the second floor, playing pool, but most were heading to the third floor where the action really was. The glass-topped tables etched with jungle animals were placed around the dance floor. The chairs were covered in a jungle-themed tapestry to carry on the theme. On each table, there was a booklet listing all the song choices for karaoke, along with candles floating in short round vases. To sing, you had to choose your song and give it to the karaoke guy, first come, first sing. For an extra five bucks, you could have the special lights on. Adam and Quinn found a table, sitting side by side to go through the book of songs and watch the stage.

They were discussing song choices when Sam approached their table. He wore a simple black suit like his navy blue suit but that night he had added a tie adorned with monkeys.

"Have you enjoyed your experience so far?" he asked. He wore a smile but he was obviously not happy.

Quinn remained silent so Adam answered. "Very much so, thank you, Sam."

Sam looked back and forth between the two, knocked on the table, and said, "No problem." He then wandered off.

"Well, _that_ was awkward," Quinn said, being silently thankful that punches weren't thrown.

"Not anymore awkward than running into Katy downstairs," Adam replied. "I've got a song..." He went to take his song choice to the deejay leaving Quinn to ponder the consequences of this evening, then returned to watch the others perform with Quinn.

Most people were there to belt out a tune and perform on a stage or dance. Maybe they had been passed up on American Idol or didn't make the cut for The Voice or whatever competition was going on so they chose The Jungle to get their sing on. The rejects from So You Think You Can Dance filled the dance floor.

Adam's name was called, and he pecked Quinn on the cheek before going up to the stage. He looked at her slyly as the music began and the lights flickered about the room. Quinn could see Sam scowling in a corner off stage. She had also seen Katy vying for Sam's attention since she and Adam had gone upstairs, but, for the most part, Sam was blowing her off.

And then she learned something new about Adam...he could _sing_.

_You don't know how you met me,  
You don't know why,  
You can't turn around and say goodbye.  
All you know is when I'm with you,  
I make you free,_  
_And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea..._

_Follow me everything is alright,_  
_I'll be the one to tuck you in at night,_  
_And if you_  
_Want to leave I can guarantee,_  
_You won't find nobody else like me._

_I'm not worried 'bout the ring you wear,_  
_Cuz as long as no one knows than nobody can care._  
_You're feelin' guilty and I'm well aware,_  
_But you don't look ashamed and baby I'm not scared..._

"Is this how we're gonna do this?" Sam was standing directly behind her, his voice deep and low. He had put his hands on the back of her chair and leaned down toward her ear. She could feel his hot breath wisping across the nape of her neck...did his lips just brush my skin? Something she hadn't felt in what seemed like forever stirred low in her belly. Adam was totally unaware of this interaction as he now was performing to an audience and was seemingly very much enjoying himself.

"Do what, Sam?" she asked without looking at him though every one of her nerve endings could feel his presence.

"You came here with him..."

"And you're here with _her_..."

He said nothing more, and she felt him push off her chair. He was breathing hard; he hadn't been that close to her in so long, and, without really thinking about it, he kissed the back of her neck, inhaling her scent. His heart was racing...he needed to move away from her.

Quinn looked around the room but saw no sign of Sam. Adam's song finished, and he took a bow and returned to their table to a round of applause.

"God, that was great, Quinn! You ought to try it! So exhilarating!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sure it was...you sounded terrific-"

The house lights dimmed, and one single spotlight hit the stage. Sam stood there and began his song.

_I'm at a payphone,  
trying to call home,  
all of my change,  
I spent on you..._

_Where have the times gone,_  
_baby it's all wrong,_  
_where are the plans_  
_we made for two?_

The crowd cheered and most people began dancing. Adam tried to pull Quinn to the floor, but she refused. A gaggle of girls were at the stage, including Katy, cheering Sam on. Quinn realized that Katy was not even aware of why Sam was singing that particular song.

_Yeah, I know it's hard to remember,  
the people we used to be,  
It's even harder to picture,  
that you're not here next to me..._

_You say it's too late to make it,_  
_but is it too late to try?_  
_And in our time that you wasted,_  
_all of our bridges burned down..._

_I've wasted my nights,_  
_you turned out the lights..._  
_Now I'm paralyzed,_  
_Still stuck in that time when we called it love,_  
_But even the sun sets in paradise..._

Sam returned to the chorus, now facing the audience. The first verses he had sung directly to her. But then, his eye caught hers again.

_If happy ever after did exist,  
I would still be holding you like this,  
All those fairytales are full of shit,  
One more fucking love song I'll be sick..._

Quinn scowled at him. Adam was singing along, but she ignored him. He didn't get the significance of Sam's song choice either.

_You turned your back on tomorrow,  
'Cause you forgot yesterday,  
I gave you my love to borrow,  
You just gave it away..._

_You can't expect me to be fine,_  
_I don't expect you to care,_  
_I know I've said it before,_  
_But all of our bridges burned down..._

Sam came down off the stage with the wireless microphone in his hand, making his way through a gaggle of screaming and dancing girls until he stood at Quinn's table, singing directly at her.

_I've wasted my nights,  
you turned out the lights,  
now I'm paralyzed...  
Still stuck in that time,  
when we called it love,  
but even the sun sets in paradise..._

He was practically shooting daggers at her from his eyes; his gaze icy. He went on singing the chorus to his audience, leaving her sitting with Adam in astonishment. Adam was staring at her; he finally got it, the song Sam was singing.

"Are you ready to go, Quinn?" he whispered to her, leaning in closer.

"Yes please," she replied, still stunned by Sam's choice of song.

They slipped out while Sam was being applauded by the raucous crowd.

_xxxxx_

When Adam pulled up to her house, he turned off his car.

"Listen, about tonight, Quinn...yeah, I knew Sam was running that place...it was a bad decision on my part to take you there..."

She started to protest.

"No...I wanted to put it in his face, that he's lost you...why on Earth would a guy let you go?" he continued. While he talked to her, his hand rested on her shoulder, his fingers twined in her hair. "I would never let you go..."

He leaned closer to her, and she moved toward him. Their lips touched in a soft brief kiss. They broke but then kissed again, this time with a little more emphasis. When his tongue touched her lips, a thought raced through her mind...she had never even _considered_ another man's private parts since being married to Sam, another man's junk being naked in front of her, touching another man. She pushed away from Adam, apologizing and reaching for her purse. He leaned back into his seat, watching her.

"I'm really sorry, Adam...I-I...I'm not sure I'm ready for this..."

"I understand, Quinn...I shouldn't've rushed it...I should apologize. I had a lot of fun tonight. Hopefully, we can do it again sometime?"

She cleared her throat before opening the car door. "We'll see..."

_xxxxx_

As the evening wore down at The Jungle, the crowd thinned. They still had the few regular die-hard karaoke fiends, Finn included, who loved to perform.

_Shot through the heart,  
and you're to blame,  
Darlin', you give love...a bad name..._

Finn started with those lyrics and the few remaining people there shouted and jumped up to dance. Sam felt his hand being grabbed and suddenly he was pulled into the middle of the group by Katy. She pushed up against him, stretching her body the length of his, her hands resting on his shoulders. Out of habit, he guessed, his hands curved around her waist. The liquor he had ingested since Quinn and Adam had left probably encouraged him more than he realized. They began moving together to the beat of the music.

_Chains of love, got a hold on me,  
When passion's a prison you can't break free..._

He felt her lips on his neck, her tongue sliding up, up, to his ear. She nibbled his earlobe, and he could hear her moan. The sensation tickled his ear and sent shivers down his arm. Before he realized it, his mouth was on hers, taking her in, losing himself in that kiss...

_No one can save me,  
the damage is done..._

She was grinding her ass against his cock, working him up. She turned to face him, and he felt her hands working downward...to his shoulders, his hips, to the front of his pants.

_Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye..._

She palmed his half-stiff cock, then whispered in his ear, "I wanna see your place tonight."

All he was thinking about was Quinn at that moment...was their first kiss their first kiss goodbye? Had she always planned on leaving him eventually? What did that even mean? It felt so good to feel that warmth against his body, the warmth of someone else, then the surge of sensation in his groin from her hand.

"What? What did you say?" he mumbled into her hair.

"Your place...tonight..."

What had Quinn said that one time? Now his mind wandered while his body pulsed to the beat. It was a wedding, they were still in school at the time. At the reception, they were dancing and he was singing to her and she had whispered _tonight your place_. They had gone back to his house and it was their first time.

Sam snapped his fingers. "Of course! The Hudson-Hummel wedding!"

He realized he had said that out of the blue, in front of Katy. "What?" She looked dazed and a bit confused.

"Nothing...I'm sorry...um..." He took her hand and led her from the dance floor to a table. "I can't have anyone over tonight...my daughters' birthday is tomorrow and I need to get some sleep."

She pouted at him and moved over to sit on his knee.

"Sam...I _know_ you were enjoying our dance out there...I'm just asking for a little more time with you," she purred into his ear, her hand sliding up his thigh.

He knew she knew...his dick was still swollen and throbbing against his thigh. He put his hand on hers to stop it.

"Didn't you see her with that other guy, Sam? Looks to me that she's moved on..." Katy told him. "Maybe it's time for you to do the same?"

He looked up at her...her willing eyes, soft smile, glossy hair. Even though he had seen Quinn with Adam...on a real date...Quinn didn't look happy. But, maybe Katy was right, maybe Quinn was moving on...

He held her around the waist as he stood up, then took her hand. Even though he hadn't felt it earlier with Katy, the shiver that coursed through his body when he had been so close to Quinn, maybe he'd feel it soon.

"C'mon, Katy," he said quietly, leading her downstairs and outside to his truck. She squealed a little and practically skipped after him.

**A/N: LOL, I realize the songs I'm using are obviously current tunes and this story is set in, I dunno, around 2029. Let's just say they're having a resurgence of "old" music, hence music from 2013. :)) And karaoke too!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

_He pushed himself into her urgently, and they both gasped. He thrusted a few times and then slowed down, pulling out and pushing himself up to look down at her._

_"I need to slow down...it's almost too much..."_

_"Okay...slow and easy then..." she whispered._

_He pushed into her again slowly, hearing her whimper._

_"Are you okay?" he asked her._

_"You just feel...umm...bigger tonight..." she said, glancing down between them._

_"Oh...I'm not hurting you, am I?" Sweet holy hell she said I feel bigger oh my god BIGGER was all that registered in his mind. Maybe she meant my balls...they're freaking huge right now and were slapping her ass a few minutes ago while I was plowing into her. He moved back and forth slowly, getting into an easy rhythm with her again. She was moaning nearly the entire time. He stayed in the position way up above her and every time his pelvis would connect with hers it was like an electric shock. She was just wanted more and more of that, closer and closer together._

_Harder and faster Sam...she squeaked out._

_His arms were giving out, so he worked them behind both her knees, pushing her knees upward with his shoulders. She took the initiative and moved both her legs up over his shoulders and then he just unleashed into her what he had been holding back._

_God yes Sam...that way...oh fuck...that feels great...she mumbled, rocking herself against his hips. He could hear her bed squeaking, the headboard bouncing off the wall, and knew it was probably known downstairs what was going on up there. He pushed those thoughts out of her head and concentrated on her._

_Your bed...noisy...he muttered to her, not really caring at that point, just as long as their parents didn't come upstairs knocking on her door. God please just let me get off he thought. And...his prayer was answered._

_God Quinn...I'm about to go...can't hold it...oh my fuck..._

_He collapsed down on her, still pushing into her hard and fast, the orgasm taking away all his strength in his arms. Next to her ear, he grunted uuuhhhhfffff still coming Q...god so much... Her orgasm hit her hard then as she was gripping his hips moving him against her and moaning in his ear, shaking underneath him._

Sam writhed in his bed, deep in his dream. He suddenly was awake, gripping the sheets, and realized he'd orgasmed...in his sleep...dreaming about Quinn. He lay there, breathing heavily, trying to hold onto the fragments of the wonderful dream. It was the night he officially proposed to her...they did it upstairs while their parents sat in the kitchen directly below her banging bed. He tried to recall what had happened next...did they get in trouble? Just fall asleep?

_They finally slowed down enough to make the bed stop shaking but moved together for a while longer to calm themselves down. He finally slipped out of her and lay down beside her on the bed. He picked up her left hand and started playing with her ring._

_"You just do not know what you do to me Q...every time it is more intense than the last time it seems," he said, still somewhat breathless._

_"Lincoln logs Sam..." she whispered. Then, they both laughed._

He absently thought of the Lincoln logs remark and for the life of him couldn't remember what she had meant by it.

_"So...which one of is going to be brave enough to go back downstairs? How loud was the bed?" he asked._

_She looked over at him. "If your parents were in the basement, they probably heard that banging Sam."_

_"I'm sleeping up here tonight...no way am I doing the walk of shame..." He held up her hand to look at her ring shine in the moonlight._

_"I want you to stay tonight Sam..." she said quietly._

_"This night couldn't have ended any more perfect..." he said, curling up behind her. "I'm so excited about the future Quinn."_

_"Me too Sam..."_

_"Senior year baby! And, I get to marry the best thing to ever happen to me..." he said behind her and she felt him punch the air and whisper his trademark yes._

_"How am I going to concentrate on anything at all? It's gonna be a wild ride Samuel...I can't wait!" She punched the air too._

What a night that had been, he recalled. He had put so much work into his proposal to her, then the sex...the sex was beyond awesome. He understood what Quinn meant...their magic...where had it gone? That night he had been on top of the world, insanely happy. He reached under the sheet and felt the front of his boxers...a mess. He couldn't even remember the last time that had happened. He needed to get up anyway and begin getting ready for his daddy-daughter date later on that day. He sat up on the side of the bed and checked his phone.

_Daddy...dont foregt 4 today_ Jasmine had texted him at 6:30 that morning, reminding him to pick them up at 4 p.m.

_Thanks again for the ride home...wish I could've stayed at your place tho_ Katy had texted him as soon as he had dropped her off the night before.

_My lawyer said those papers need to be signed asap_ Quinn had texted him just a few minutes before he shot his wad.

He replied first to his daughter, assuring her that he'd be there to pick them up at 4. Then, to Katy, he replied simply _see ya tonite_. He'd see her at the cheerleading competition. To Quinn, he replied, _my lawyer is sending stuff to your lawyer_. He hit send and then sat there in disbelief. Never in a million years did he think he'd be talking to Quinn about sending papers to each other's lawyer. For a moment, he was simply stunned. When he moved to set his phone down, he realized his boxers were stuck to his skin so he made his way to the shower.

_xxxxx_

The twins had been full of birthday energy the entire day. Quinn was still reeling from her date with Adam and how that ended while trying to wrangle the girls into getting ready for Sam. She pulled their pink and purple tutus from their closets with matching leggings and the sparkly tops they wanted to wear. She styled their hair for them and put on the tiniest amount of makeup. They were 9 now and begging for some eye shadow. By the time Sam arrived, his daughters were raring to go...all dolled up to be his dates for the evening.

He arrived 10 minutes early. He knocked and waited until the door was answered. Quinn did the honors. She was quite as he remembered her in school...shorts, a t-shirt, hair in a high ponytail, cheeks flushed a bit. He was dressed up for his daddy-daughters date in his navy blue suit.

"Hey..." she said, out of breath. "I was just finishing up with your dates." She looked him up and down. "You look quite dashing."

He smiled and thanked her, and she invited him in. "The boys are in the family room."

He followed her to the family room where his two sons were glued to a game on the PS5.

"Hey guys...anything new?" he asked them as Quinn went upstairs to get the girls.

The boys grunted at him.

"Maybe tomorrow you two can come with me to Nashville? I have a co-op meeting..."

They both groaned.

"There might be some farmer's daughters there..." he said, trying to entice them. That somewhat got their attention, and they paused their game.

"Really Dad?" Jasper asked him. "Girls?"

Sam shrugged. "Listen, it's boring and I don't want to go alone...besides, if I take you two, I'll have an out to leave early."

They looked at one another.

"For the new NFL game..." Joseph said. Now, it was bargaining time.

"Last year's NFL game," Sam said. The boys looked at each other again. Jasper nodded slightly toward Joseph. "Tomorrow at 5."

"Done," Joseph answered for them. Sam sighed a sigh of relief. He then turned toward the staircase...descending were his daughters.

Quinn followed them, all three of them giggling and trying to act sophisticated. Sam stood and watched them, his hands clasped behind his back, until they stopped in front of him.

"Happy birthday, ladies," he said, bringing the two bouquets of flowers from behind his back for them. They both gasped in surprise. Purple daisies for Juliet and pink daisies for Jasmine. He bent down to their level and took them in his arms. "I love you both so, so much." They showered him with kisses. He then presented their necklaces to them and put them around each girl's slender neck.

Quinn watched them closely. "Girls, I'll put your daisies in water for you. You don't want to be late..." She took their bouquets and headed to the kitchen. There, she knew they wouldn't see her tears. Unaware to Quinn, Sam followed her into the kitchen.

"I'll have them home before midnight, I'm guessing-" he started to tell her, then saw her tear-stained cheeks. "Oh no...did I do something?"

She wiped at her cheeks quickly and cleared her throat. "No...no...everything's fine..."

He really didn't think so. He touched her shoulder gently. "Happy birthday, mom," he said quietly. They wished one another happy birthday on the kids' birthdays to remind themselves of the day their family grew.

She smiled a little. "You too, dad."

_xxxxx_

After Sam and the girls left for dinner, Quinn sat down on the couch between her sons.

"Movie tonight, boys?" she asked them. Joseph paused their game.

"Horror? No chick flick, right?" he asked her.

"Something funny..." Jasper offered.

"Let's see..." Effortlessly, she got the boys to turn off the game and check the TV for on-demand movies. They finally decided on a romantic comedy that they had heard good things about. Quinn offered to make some popcorn.

Heading to the kitchen, she stopped suddenly. "Why don't I call up Auntie Rach to see if she wants to come over with Ari and Andy and Jasp why don't you call Maragold and invite her over?"

The boys looked at one another, sharing some silent communication. Joseph nodded (more time to spend with Arielle), and Jasper pulled out his phone to text Maragold. Quinn called Rachel from the kitchen. Rachel agreed wholeheartedly to the idea (she wanted to get out of the house), but it would only be her and Arielle, Andrew was with his friends at some sporting overnight get-together.

Rachel and Arielle, and soon thereafter Maragold, arrived at the farm. The kids got comfortable on the couches in the family room while Quinn and Rachel put together some snacks for them all.

"So many hormones raging in that room!" Rachel said, glancing over her shoulder. "The boys are hardly speaking to the girls; they're talking to each other. So much tension!"

"Tension? Surely not."

"Have you forgotten Ari and Joey's little getaway, Quinnie? Trust me, there is tension there," Rachel said, smirking. Quinn frowned. "C'mon, girlfriend, you know it's going to happen one of these days...it might as well be between those two. I trust Joseph not to hurt Arielle. And she loves him to pieces."

Quinn followed Rachel's gaze. The girls were now sitting with the son they liked, laughing about something.

"So...how'd it go with Sam today?"

Quinn sighed. "The same...he brought the girls flowers and pretty necklaces. I'm such a fool...it made me cry."

"Did he say anything to you? Or just the normal grunting?"

Quinn recalled Sam following her into the kitchen, touching her shoulder. "Just the normal..."

They finished up in the kitchen and retreated to the family room, causing all four teens to suddenly become totally quiet. Quinn and Rachel shared the third couch after passing around snacks and turning down some of the lights and started the movie. After the rom-com, the kids talked Quinn and Rachel into watching a new thriller so they replenished their snacks and settled in for the second show. Both Quinn and Rachel noticed all four kids flinching at the scary parts and finally the boys holding the girls' hands.

_xxxxx_

Sam and his girls were having a blast at the cheerleading competition. Dinner had been a lot of fun; he enjoyed spending time with his little ladies and showing them off. They were naturally beautiful...so Quinn-like. They used their best manners at dinner, and he hoped they knew he was proud of them...he didn't want to embarrass them by saying it out loud, since they were now "big girls," according to Jasmine.

"Well, big_ger_...you still have a few years 'til you're my grand old age," Sam said, laughing.

The cheerleading competition was held on the grounds of Vanderbilt University at the multipurpose recreational facility. Teams from around central Tennessee were competing that day with Vanderbilt, as hosts, not competing but doing their routine. Juliet and Jasmine were very fired up about this. They sat on each side of Sam but mostly stood to do the cheers and dances. At the intermission, Sam and the girls went down to the main floor to meet up with others from their local gym. He saw Katy and waved a bit. She came over to talk to them. She was volunteering that day, helping the TTC squad. An announcement was made for any guest to meet on the floor to learn a new routine. Sam's daughters squealed with excitement and he let them run off with Katy to do their thing.

He was speaking to the other parents gathered at the sideline when he heard the chorus of voices calling him.

"Mr. Evans!"

"Sam!"

"_Daddy_!" That voice stood out the most clear, urgent and in pain. Juliet was crying for him.

_xxxxx_

Rachel jumped at a gory shock-you scene on the giant TV and latched onto Quinn. In the flashes of light, she saw Arielle and Maragold also flinch with both boys holding onto them tightly, yet laughing. She thought she heard Maragold squeal. Then, Quinn's phone vibrated on the coffee table. She glanced at it, seeing an old picture of Sam and all four kids hanging on him. She disentangled herself from Rachel and took her phone to the kitchen to answer his call.

"What's up?" she said by means of _hello_. "Are the girls having fun?"

She could hear a lot of commotion in the background on Sam's end. A doctor was being paged overhead. A clang of metal on metal.

"Uh, Quinn...don't freak out, please...but we're at Vanderbilt hospital..."

"_What?_" Quinn slumped onto one of the bar stools. "What's going on?"

Sam cleared his throat. Before he could answer, she nearly screamed at him..._Sam!_

"Juliet broke her arm," he mumbled finally. "She's in surgery." No sugar-coating it.

"Oh my god," Quinn said, rubbing her forehead. "How bad? Is she okay? Where are you? I'm on my way!"

She ended the call without waiting for any more information from Sam and rushed into the family room.

"Pause the movie!" she said, on edge. "Rach, Juliet's hurt...I need to go to Vanderbilt..."

All chattering stopped, and the movie was stopped.

"What happened, mom?" Jasper asked.

Quinn was flustered. "I-I don't know...your dad called and said Juliet broke her arm and she's at Vanderbilt and she's in surgery...Rachel?"

Rachel had jumped up and was at Quinn's side. "I'll call Finn and have him come over here...I'll take you to Vanderbilt."

Joseph and Jasper came over to Quinn.

"Should we come with you?" Joseph asked her, hating her worried expression. Jasper put his arm around her shoulders.

"We can go too, mom," he said quietly.

Quinn sniffed back some tears. "No, you all stay here and finish your movie; Finn will be over soon."

Within the next few minutes, the four teens were standing on the front porch watching Rachel tear down the drive with Quinn.

Joseph turned to Jasper.

"You two stay here on the porch; hit me up if anyone comes down the lane," he said brusquely to his little brother. He picked up Arielle's hand. "I'm gonna show Ari that new equipment dad bought for the gym."

"New...?" Jasper asked, confused, but then saw Joseph wink. "Yeah, okay."

Joseph knew this opportunity was sent from Up Above. He knew that his sister would be fine; he had broken his wrist at an even younger age than her, even had surgery to set the break, and he turned out fine. He pulled Arielle through the house to the back door, loving how she was giggling. On the back deck, next to the shimmering pool, she stopped him.

"Are you sure this is okay? I mean, my dad will be here soon..."

"I overheard your mom talking to him...he can't get here until he finds someone to watch his restaurant place," Joseph informed her. "C'mon..."

He flashed an irresistible smile at her, and she smiled too. They held hands and made their way to the gym.


	13. Chapter 13

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Since being ungrounded from their epic failure of a runaway attempt, their parents had been letting them see one another but only under close supervision. While watching the movies with their moms, Arielle had been teasing Joseph almost unbearably. Her hand would creep along his thigh in the shadows, making him hard. She'd stop, and he'd calm down. Then, she'd press against him while laughing or being scared, and he'd feel the soft curve of her breast and he'd be hard again.

He opened the door to the gym and flipped on only one set of fluorescents.

"So, your dad got something new, hmm?" Arielle asked, gliding past him, barely touching him.

"Well, it's not exactly _new_ new..." he said, following her, locking the door. He came up behind her as she checked out some weights and put his arms around her. "I just thought we'd take advantage of a little alone time."

She turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling. She kissed him softly. "Mmm...alone time...I'm all about that, Joey."

He walked her backward to some gym mats on the floor where his sisters would practice their tumbling. She slid down his body until she was sitting on the floor, her elbows resting on her knees, looking up at him.

"Join me?" she purred. He sat down with her. She moved in closer, straddling him.

The kisses and touching were becoming more heated. They had had a few times together that ended in dry humping (one of the times being when they ran away). There had been touching but very little of that and typically over clothes. Arielle slid off Joseph's lap and leaned back against the mat, taking him with her.

Running her fingers through his short more natural blonde hair (Sam had made him cut it after the running away ordeal), she whispered to him, "I'm ready."

His kissing slowed down until he was staring at her. In times past, when making out and he'd tried to un-do her pants or touch her _there_, she'd tell me she wasn't ready for that. Hearing her actually say those words actually scared him a little.

"Really? You're sure?" He stared into her huge doe-brown eyes and ran his fingers through her silky dark brown hair with the pink streaks.

She nodded ever so slightly. "I want it to be with you, Joey..." She pulled him to her and began planting tiny kisses on his collarbone.

"What if someone comes down the road?" With her lips on his neck, he couldn't think of how else to phrase that thought.

"If someone comes home, then we stop."

He groaned. "Not sure I'll be able to..."

She smirked, then pushed him off her and stood up. He saw his first striptease in person then. She stripped off the few summer clothes she had on, except her panties, then returned next to him on the mat. He ripped off his t-shirt and balled it up for her to use as a pillow.

He ran a finger down her cheek to her shoulder, then her bare breast. "God, you're gorgeous."

He started kissing her again, timidly at first but quickly moving into the passionate zone. He had cupped her breast in his hand, squeezing gently, eliciting a soft moan from her. He then drew his finger slowly down her belly. He stopped kissing her to watch his finger move over her olive skin, her tight tummy, to the waist band of her panties. Hesitantly, he moved his finger over the front of said panties...the most beautiful shade of pink he thought he'd ever seen... and over the folds of skin lying beneath the fabric. As he did so, she sucked in her breath and arched her back.

"Oh god! Did I do something? Hurt you?" he asked, yanking his hand away.

Her belly was rising up and down with her breathing. "It just felt-just felt-sensitive there...don't stop..."

They shared another moment of staring at one another, then his hand moved back over her. He pressed gently against the thin fabric, feeling her private lady parts just out of reach. Finally, she hooked a thumb in her underwear and started working them down. He took the cue and helped, until the panties were at her feet and she flung them off completely. It was the first time he had seen a completely nude woman...one who was alive and breathing and laying right next to him. He looked down at her nakedness, seeing his own erection pressing against her hip.

She caught him looking down at her body and his. She turned a bit toward him, placing her hand gently on his penis over his shorts.

"Those should go..." she mumbled into his mouth.

He had those shorts off in record time.

Now, they were both completely naked, lying side by side. Neither one of them had seen the other naked before, so along with the kissing and touching there was also some looking. Joseph seemed a bit transfixed on Arielle's pubic hair, or lack thereof.

"My mom showed me how to..." she said when she realized he was running his fingers through it carefully.

"Yeah, yeah, of course..." He had no idea what she was talking about.

He then swallowed audibly-gulped-and moved over her. He felt his cock pressing against the landing strip of hair she had. She held onto his biceps and brought her knees up shyly, biting her lip.

"I love you so much, Joseph Aaron," she whispered, waiting for him to enter her.

He was so nervous, so focused on one thing, that all he could respond with was a huffed-out _yeah, you too_. She was trembling and could feel him shaking too. He pushed around at her vagina a couple times until she mumbled _uhh_ and lifted her hips to him.

Suddenly, the tip of his cock entered her. He stopped; she flinched.

"You okay?" he asked, his eyes closed. He felt her nod so he pushed in a bit more.

He finally stole a peek at her; her eyes were squeezed shut…her brow furrowed…biting her lip. He was finally all the way inside her. He closed his eyes again and started moving slowly. He felt her hands moving through his hair, down his back, grabbing his hips.

"How…how does it feel?" she squeaked out.

Tighttighttight. "_Enveloping_," he finally mumbled. He was wrapped up by her love.

Within three minutes, it was over. His orgasm appeared out of nowhere it seemed, racked through his body, and, before he could ask her if he needed to pull out, he was coming…he couldn't stop it. Afterward, he pulled out gently and rolled off her.

They were both silent for what seemed like the longest time.

Then, Arielle sat up and looked at him. "So…that was it?"

_xxxxx_

While their oldest child was busy losing his virginity to their best friends' daughter, Sam and Quinn met face-to-face at the hospital. Quinn first saw Jasmine who ran up to her, hugging her and crying, saying it was just an accident. Rachel pried Jasmine off Quinn while Quinn sought out Sam. She finally found him in the waiting room for surgery.

"How is she, Sam? What happened?" Quinn demanded, pulling him to his feet. Somewhere in her peripheral vision, she realized Katy was nearby but didn't have the patience to deal with that issue at the moment.

"She's in surgery, Quinn-"

"Surgery? Why surgery?" All Quinn could think of was Joseph's broken wrist and how they had easily set it with a bit of anesthesia and he wore a cast for six weeks.

Sam gripped Quinn's upper arms, trying to speak calmly and evenly to her. "Her break wasn't stable. They are going to have to use pins and screws and…"

Every bit of adrenaline holding Quinn up suddenly whooshed out of her body and her knees gave-way.

"I can't believe you let this happen, Sam Evans…I can't believe it. I wasn't even there…oh my god, she could've died!"

Sam had helped her into a chair. "Quinn, no, god, she wasn't going to _die_…"

"What if it had been her neck, Sam?" Quinn screeched, standing again. "Yes, she could've died…or been paralyzed…or permanently injured! Where's her doctor? I need to talk to the doctor!"

Quinn wrenched free from Sam's grasp to find someone to give her answers. She then caught Katy's eye and stopped.

"You. You did this. If you had just left my husband alone, none of this would have happened! Why are _you_ even here?!" Quinn yelled at her, then left the waiting room. Katy just slumped in her seat.

Quinn wanted answers, _needed_ answers, from someone, anyone. She burst out of the waiting room, rushing down the hallway toward the nearest hospital employee. Sam followed her, trying to grab her and talk to her, calm her down.

"Excuse me...excuse me please..." Quinn said, approaching a man who appeared to be a doctor standing at a counter surrounded by nursing staff. "My daughter, Juliet Evans, Juliet Grace Evans, is in surgery and-"

"Quinn, c'mon, that's not her doctor...lemme talk to you...please," Sam said, catching up with her and taking her by the elbow.

Maybe it was the desperate tone of her voice or the look on her face, but the man in the white coat pointed Sam toward a room marked 'consultation'. Sam led Quinn there...a small quiet room where they could talk. He shut the door and turned to face her. She stood looking at the floor, her shoulders shuddering with quiet sobs. He held onto her upper arms and suddenly she reminded him of one of his daughters...or maybe when they had been in high school. She finally looked up at him with tears streaking down her face. She pulled the back of her hand across her nose and sniffed.

He pulled her into a tight embrace then, hating the fact that he was not holding her...that he had not held her in weeks...months. He let her cry until she was ready to speak. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"I should've been there with her..." Quinn finally mumbled. Anger burned through her eyes at him. "Where were _you_? Why weren't you watching her?"

She began pummeling her fists against his chest.

"How could you let her get hurt, Sam? How could you let this happen to our baby?" she cried, her words coming out between pounding his body and spittle and tears. Finally, giving in to his arms, she whispered, "How could you?"

Again, he held her silently, letting her get her anger out. He wondered if this outburst had more to do with him than with Juliet's accident. Finally, he leaned back a bit, putting a finger under her chin and lifting her face to his.

"I'm so sorry, Quinn. It was an accident, just an accident. She'll be fine, I promise you. Just…I'm sorry," he said quietly. He then bent down to her and his lips met hers in a soft kiss. She kissed him back gently.

"She'll be okay? You promise me?" she asked him.

"Absolutely, Q. When it happened, I was only 10 feet away from her…it was just a freak accident," he continued, then kissed her again, sensing that she was calming down.

"Was she…was she…hurting? Oh, why wasn't I there?"

He paused a moment. "There were some tears and she had a little pain, but the paramedics were already there and got to her right away. They splinted her arm, gave her some pain medicine, and we got right over here, which is when I called you."

"Surgery…how bad is it?"

"The ortho guy said it was an unstable fracture so he needed to fix it with pins, maybe screws, to make sure the bone grows back together. It's her right forearm…"

"Oh god…she's right-handed…"

"The pins he can take out. If he puts in screws, they stay in. He got her in right away…she kinda barfed up her entire dinner when it happened so her tummy was empty and they could use the meds to put her under," Sam said, making a face.

Surprisingly, Quinn laughed a little. "She barfed?"

Sam snorted, remembering Katy's face when it happened. "All over Katy's shoes."

"Oh my god…was Katy spotting her?"

"No, she was working with some other little girls. Juliet's spotter caught her but she flipped out of his arms…totally a fluke thing."

She let him hold her and dissolved into his embrace. It seemed all the stress and arguing for the past few months finally caught up with her.

"We need to get _this_ back," he whispered into her hair. "Me and you."

She nodded against his chest and replied _yes_ softly.

"So...we'll go back to the waiting room and wait for the doctor-"

"What about Katy? Why is she even here?" Quinn asked suddenly, lifting her head from the sound of his heart.

Sam took her hands in his. "She only came because she was worried about Jules...that's all...I swear. Juliet was crying, Jasmine was crying...even Katy was crying...god, so many tears." He looked Quinn in the eye. "There is nothing going on between me and her...I swear to you."

They had a couple moments of staring one another down, then the slightest of smiles appeared on her lips.

"Okay, let's go. I wanna see my girl," she said, still holding his hand.

_xxxxx_

Joseph stared up at Arielle who was staring down at him. It hit him then what she meant. He sat up quickly, pulling her against him.

"I'm sorry, Ari..." He pulled away and kissed her. "My first time and all, you know..."

"No...Joey, I didn't mean..." She stumbled over her words, running her fingers through the soft brown hair along his arms. "I loved it! I loved that it was with you...I can't believe that that's it...that's what we get to share with one another. Even if they did make us get the annulment, we're together now, as one, right?"

"Right...two bodies, one soul..." They kept kissing, and he lowered her back against the mat.

_xxxxx_

In the waiting room, they found Rachel still sitting with Jasmine, brushing her hair, and Katy still sitting in a corner.

"Any word yet?" Sam asked them. They mumbled words that sounded like _no, not yet_.

Hesitantly, Quinn sat down next to Katy.

_I will take the high road here_, Quinn thought to herself. She felt Katy's posture stiffen next to her as she sat down.

Quinn took a deep breath. "I want to thank you, Katy, for coming here with Sam and Jas and helping keep Jasmine calm for him while he dealt with Jules..." she said quickly. "I appreciate your help. And…I should apologize, for what I said earlier."

Katy looked at Quinn, honestly unsure of how to respond. So, she broke out into a 1000-megawatt smile.

"Juliet will be just fine! I know the surgeon…he'll fix her right up!" She was entirely too perky for the waiting room. She stood up and smoothed the front of her shorts, her palms resting on her thighs. "I should be going. I'll see you next week, Jasmine!" She practically danced out of the room.

Quinn sat there in shock, trying to process the girl who had tried to steal her husband, who could just waltz in and out of Sam's life as if it was no big deal how many lives she affected. Sam picked up on the Quinn's look, a combination of utter confusion and being pissed off, and slid into the chair next to her that Katy had not occupied. He picked up her hand again, then turned to Jasmine, trying to show a united front.

"Your sister will be fine…before Christmas she'll be back to her normal routine," he said to Jasmine. Jasmine sat with Rachel, cradling her right elbow.

"It hurts, daddy," she said quietly, then broke into tears. "It's all my fault!"

Quinn immediately went into mom mode and rushed to Jasmine's side, hugging her along with Aunt Rachel. Sam followed and picked her up out of their clutches to hold her.

"It wasn't your fault, Jas…it was just an accident," he said, trying to sooth her.

She buried her face in his neck. He stroked her hair, trying to shush her.

"I shoulda caught her, daddy…I shouldn't've let her fall like that!"

It was clear that Jasmine was well on her way to a twin sisterly meltdown. At that moment, the surgeon appeared in the waiting room…a knight in pale blue scrubs, Sam thought.

"Hey Evans family…Juliet is waking up right now…the operation went splendidly!" he announced.

Quinn and Sam both sighed in relief. Rachel jumped up and hugged Quinn, then held Jasmine's hand.

The surgeon explained what happened in surgery in layman's terms, then told the family they could visit with Juliet as soon as she was stable.

Sam kissed Jasmine's cheek. "I told you, Jas, your sister would be A-okay."

Quinn kissed Jasmine too, then caught Sam's eye. He pecked her on the cheek, whispering, "She's fine, momma."

_xxxxx_

At the farm, Arielle sat on the porch swing with Maragold talking while Joseph and Jasper were passing a football in the front yard when Finn pulled up.

He exited his SUV, taking in the four teens warily.

"Joey, Jasper…" he said stiffly, nodding at the two boys. He then went to the front porch. "Hi Maragold…Arielle."

"Hi daddy!" Arielle responded cheerfully, jumping up to hug him. "Mom just called…Juliet's surgery is done…she did fine."

"Oh good, thank god," he said, looking around at all four of them again. "You all have just…been out here?"

She nodded. "Yep, waiting on you."

From where he stood spiraling the football at his brother, Joseph wondered if he looked any more like a man now…he sure as hell felt like a man. Arielle caught his eye and winked. She looked right over the shoulder of her father.

In the gym, the second time had gone much more slowly and smoothly. Joseph had still been nervous but more controlled. Arielle told him she thought she might've had an orgasm; she really wasn't quite sure but that it had felt good.

Now, with her father hugging her, Joseph smiled to himself, thinking of how he took Arielle's pink panties and hid them in his bedroom before joining his brother and his girlfriend on the front porch.

_xxxxx_

Sam, still carrying Jasmine, followed by Quinn and Rachel stepped into Juliet's recovery room quietly. She looked drowsy, her eyelids drooping. She saw them and broke out into a slow, drug-induced smile.

"Hi mom, daddy…hi Jas…hi Aunty…" Her voice trailed off. Quinn stepped to one side of her bed, Sam and Jasmine stayed on the opposite side. Quinn stroked Juliet's hair back. A nurse came in to check her vital signs and how she was waking up. Quinn kissed Juliet's forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Jules…for not being here…" Quinn whispered, brushing away an errant tear.

Juliet giggled. "You're here, mommy."

"How're you feeling, princess?" Sam asked her.

"Okay…" she replied in a tiny voice. "Sleepy…"

"The doctor said your surgery went great," Sam told her.

"Surgery? Is Miss Katy here? Did she see my somersault?" Juliet asked, her eyes opening a bit wider.

Sam and Quinn shared a glance over the bed.

"She was here but had to go home…she said your flip rocked," Quinn told Juliet. Juliet smiled, then nodded off again.

The nurse ushered them out of Juliet's room after reassuring them that she was fine. She also told them that Juliet would be kept overnight for observation. They found themselves back in the surgery waiting room. By this point, Jasmine was nodding off in Sam's arms.

"Do you want me to take her on home?" Rachel whisper-asked Quinn.

"That'd probably be good for her, Rach, thanks," Sam answered. He already realized that at least he would be sleeping at the hospital that night. He wasn't sure if Quinn would be but his guess was that she would want to.

"If you two want, I can stay at the farm with all the kids so you can stay here," Rachel added. "It's no problem at all. Finn texted me awhile ago; he's there now."

Quinn hugged Rachel, a lingering hug, then wiped more tears from her face.

"I owe you one," she whispered to Rachel who smiled.

"That's what friends are for, goofball. Just try to get some rest, okay?"

Quinn nodded.

Sam carried Jasmine, still sleeping, to Rachel's car and strapped her in.

"Thanks again, Rach, for helping out tonight. It means a lot to us," Sam said in the quiet darkness of the hospital parking lot. He kissed Jasmine on the forehead once more before Rachel pulled away.

Sam found Quinn had dozed off in the waiting room. He sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She startled a bit at his touch but then let herself melt into his side. Finally, they were called to a room where they found Juliet resting comfortably. After speaking briefly to the nurses, they pulled out the overnight chair.

"Try to get comfy, Q…I'll take this chair," Sam said, carrying an all-metal wing chair to Juliet's bedside.

Quinn extended the recliner. "Are you sure, Sam?"

"I'm sure…" He smiled over at her.

Thirty minutes later, with the lights dimmed, he had curled up next to Quinn on the pull-out chair and was holding her in a deep sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

"Mommy...it hurts..." The tiny wail woke Quinn. At first, she didn't move, unsure of where she had fallen asleep. She could feel the warmth, the rise and fall, of a body behind her, a tan arm draped over her waist, familiar golden brown hair on said arm. For an instant, she didn't want to move, it felt so good to be curved into his body again, even though her joints ached from sleeping on the functional hospital chair. _Hospital._ Then, she remembered where she was and why. She extricated herself from Sam's warmth to tend to Juliet.

Sam mumbled, still mostly asleep, until he heard Juliet's whimpers and Quinn whispering to her. He sat up and ran his hands through his hair, recalling the events of the night before. He pushed himself up off the chair and went to the opposite side of Juliet's bed, holding her uninjured hand. He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"It hurts, daddy...make it go away!"

"I've already called for a nurse..." Quinn interjected.

"My poor baby...you'll feel better soon, I promise..." Sam told her, stroking her hair. "Do you need some water?"

The nurse entered the room and talked to Quinn.

"Miss Juliet, I'm going to get you something for the pain. Breakfast will be here soon, and we need to get you up and to the restroom. Do you feel like getting out of bed?"

Juliet whimpered a bit more but nodded. The nurse left. Sam met Quinn's eyes over their daughter. She smiled at him, a small smile but a smile nonetheless. He smiled back, then turned his attention to his daughter, wiping stray tears from her cheeks with this thumb.

The nurse returned quickly and injected pain medicine through Juliet's IV.

"Now, let's try to get to the restroom...the sooner you can get up and move around, the sooner the doc will let you go home," the nurse told them.

Juliet grumbled a little but slid her legs to the side of the bed where Quinn was standing.

"I want mom to help me...don't look, daddy," she mumbled, knowing the back of her gown was gaping open. Quinn did her best to hold it shut and help her to the bathroom with the IV pole attached to her still, though Sam still caught a quick glimpse of Juliet's bare back and little girl panties. He slumped back down on the chair. He hated seeing any of his kids like this, hurt and him not being able to make the hurt go away. He rubbed his temples and ran his hands through his hair again. His phone vibrated in his pocket.

A text from Katy that read: _Hows Miss Juliet? I miss u. Can I come c u?_

He sighed. This was the last thing he needed to deal with that morning. He began texting her back as Juliet, Quinn, and the nurse exited the bathroom. Juliet seemed to have perked up a bit. He told Katy that no, her being there would not be a good idea.

"Who ya talkin' to, dad?" she chirped, sitting on her bed and letting Quinn and the nurse spin her around and position her against her pillows. "Is it Jas?"

He was a bit distracted while sending Katy a short message, telling her Juliet was fine, just waking up, and no need for her to be there, so in response to Juliet's question he mumbled an _uh no_. After he hit send, he looked up to find Quinn scowling at him. He went back to his phone and replied to others who had texted him about Juliet.

"That medicine really worked, daddy!" Juliet said. "The nurse said they're stopping the IV and if I eat lunch okay I can go home tonight. Cool, huh?"

"Very cool, Jules," he answered, his phone now tucked away in his pocket. "Your cast looks pretty neat."

It was a bright purple.

Juliet regarded it for a moment. "Yeah...it's heavy though." She gingerly lifted it up and down. Quinn began brushing her hair.

"We'll get you a sling for it," Sam told her. "I had to have one when I hurt my shoulder in high school."

The nurse brought in a breakfast tray, followed by Kourtney and Jasmine. Juliet squealed when she saw her sister.

"She just couldn't wait to see her so here we are," Kourtney said to Sam and Quinn. "We brought these too."

She set a bag on one of the chairs in the room and pulled out a purple t-shirt, the right sleeve cut completely off. "We went through the boys' shirts and chopped off the right sleeves for her."

Quinn went over to Kourtney hugging her tightly and thanking her. She then turned back to Juliet.

"We'll attempt a shower before we go home, okay?"

Juliet nodded at Quinn but then glanced at her cast, unsure of a shower happening.

A light tapping at the door made them all turn their heads. Adam stood there holding bags of breakfast and a purple balloon bouquet. The room was suddenly free of any sound except for another squeal from Juliet.

"Hey, I got your text," he said quietly to Quinn. He smiled to the rest of the group, then to Juliet. Quinn did not miss the scowl on Sam's face.

"And how are you feeling?" he asked Juliet.

"Not too bad now," Juliet replied. "You shoulda seen my flip!"

"I bet it was awesome," Adam said, glancing at Sam. He made his way over to where Sam sat on the sleeping chair and extended his free hand.

"How're you doing?" Adam asked him hesitantly. Sam looked at Adam's hand, then to Adam. Finally, grudgingly, he shook Adam's hand, only because Juliet and Jasmine were watching.

"It was a long night," Sam told him.

"I thought it might be...I brought some donuts and bagels..." Adam said, gesturing to the bag. "I can run and get some juice or coffee too."

"A coffee sounds wonderful, Adam! Thank you so much!" Kourtney said, grabbing the bag and, at the same time, pushing him toward the door. "I take mine black...thanks..."

As soon as Adam was out of earshot, Quinn looked at Sam and said, "I swear to you I didn't ask him to come here."

Sam threw his hands up and smirked. "No biggie, Quinn. Not at all." He pushed past Kourtney and left the room. Quinn watched him leave, then rolled her eyes at Kourtney.

"Mommy, is daddy mad?" Juliet asked, a whine to her voice.

"No...no...well, maybe at me but not at you," Quinn said softly, running her hand over Juliet's blonde hair.

Sam left the room in a huff, stalking to the nearest waiting room. He pulled out his phone and saw a new message from Katy.

_We ned 2 talk._ He sighed and replied _Sure, come on out 2 the hosp_.

To himself, he thought _why not?_

_xxxxx_

Sam returned to Juliet's room thirty minutes later. He had missed the surgeon's visit, and a cup of coffee sat by the sleeping chair, ice cold. Adam was sitting in one of the chairs playing hangman with Jasmine. Quinn sat on one side of Juliet's bed, Kourtney on the other.

"What'd the doc say?" he asked no one in particular.

"If Jules can tolerate eating and her meds after lunch she can go home," Quinn answered him. "And they took her IV out."

Sam took in everyone in the room except Adam. "Okay, so what's for lunch?"

Juliet giggled. "You always want to know what's to eat, dad!"

"'Cause I'm constantly starved!" he replied, muttering a _move it_ under his breath to Quinn. She again rolled her eyes and moved out of his way. He sat down on the edge of Juliet's bed. "Someone's coming out to say hi to you in a little bit...it's a surprise!"

"Joey and Jasp?"

"Nope...they're hanging out at the farm, getting the house ready for your arrival...someone else who thinks you're supercool."

Juliet sat in deep thought. "Tell me, dad! I don't know who!"

"You'll see…now, tell me what the doc said about how you're supposed to take a shower with this thing on," Sam said, changing the subject.

Juliet was still telling Sam everything the doctor had instructed her to do with cast care and early physical therapy exercises using only her wrist, hand, and fingers on the right side when there was a soft tapping at the door. All eyes in the room turned to see Katy standing there, smiling sheepishly and holding a candy bouquet and a teddy bear wearing a Vanderbilt cheerleading costume. She slipped into the room and went directly to stand next to Sam.

"Hi Miss Jules…how're you doing, sweetie?" Katy said, smiling and offering her gifts to Juliet.

"It hurts but I can handle it," Juliet answered, smiling. "Thank you for the candy."

Quinn slipped next to Juliet's bed. "Well, we'll take it easy on the candy, Jules."

Juliet frowned at her mother when Quinn plucked the candy bouquet from her hands and set it on a counter.

Then, when Katy set her hand tenderly on Sam's arm, Quinn wondered why they said people were green with jealousy. It was red, all red. She was so jealous by that one small gesture, done in front of her, that all she could see was red.

"I need to talk to you," Katy whispered to Sam.

"Excuse me…I need some air…" Quinn announced and nearly sprinted from Juliet's room and down the hall. Adam quickly followed her.

Kourtney watched Sam glare at Katy.

"You told me to come out here," Katy whispered to him. "Please, I need to tell you-"

"Not here," Sam growled at her. Kourtney was more than a little shocked. "This is not the time or place, Katy."

Her eyes filled with tears. "It's really important, Sam."

_xxxxx_

In a nearby waiting room, Quinn was seething with jealousy and pacing the thankfully empty room. Adam was trying to calm her.

"Quinn, you know he'd ask her to show up here…" Adam said, trying to placate her. He lightly placed his hand on her arm.

"Don't touch me, Adam! I didn't ask you to come here! And yet, here you are! So, either way, the people who claim to care about Sam and I have absolutely no boundaries!"

Adam looked crushed. "When you texted me…you said…you said Juliet was in surgery…I just thought…I just…" he stammered. "I-I'm sorry, Quinn..."

Katy barged into the room, followed by Sam. Katy didn't seem to notice Quinn and Adam already there and turned to confront Sam.

"If you didn't want me to come out here, then why the hell did you tell me to come out?" The entire time she was poking Sam in the chest with her index finger. She glanced around the room, her eyes falling on Quinn. Then, she chuckled. "Oh, _that's_ why...I get it now."

"Listen, Katy, Quinn..." Sam looked at Quinn quickly.

"Don't group me together with that bitch," Quinn said. Katy gasped, obviously affronted by Quinn's statement.

Sam shut the door to the waiting room.

"We can't be acting like this in front of Juliet and Jasmine, not now, not ever," Sam continued, trying to calm his voice.

"Sam, I just needed to tell you-"

"Can't it wait, Katy? Really?" Quinn asked. Katy frowned at Quinn, then Adam touched her shoulder lightly causing Quinn to whip around and face him.

"Listen, Adam, thank you for bringing breakfast...I, for one, appreciated it. However, I think it'd be best if you left now as this is a _family_ situation..." She turned to glare at Katy insinuating that Katy was also not a part of their family, then back to Adam. "...and Sam and I can handle it." Adam looked shocked but dropped his hand.

"If that's how you feel, then I'll do whatever you want..." he mumbled and pushed past Sam and Katy to leave the room, shaking his head.

"Now, Sam, can I tell you-"

"Did you not just hear me, Katy?" Quinn asked, turning her fury to the much younger woman who trembled under Quinn's stare. "This is a _family_ matter and Sam and I-"

"Sam told me to come out," Katy interrupted Quinn. "To see him."

Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes. At that moment, Kourtney popped her head into the door, most likely saving Katy from Quinn's wrath.

"Jules is ready to try a shower..." Sam and Katy both looked at Quinn.

"Good. I was ready to leave this room," Quinn groused, pushing between Sam and Katy and following Kourtney down the hallway.

"Okay, what is it, Katy? You've got five minutes before I return to my daughter's room-" Sam said, looking at his watch.

"I'm leaving, Sam."

He blinked at her. "What?" For the very slightest of moments, he felt a bit sad at her words.

She broke out into a smile and tears to tell him her good news. The cheerleading coaching staff had contacted her that morning to offer her an assistant coach position. She had been going through their interview process and the competition was the final stage. She even told him that she had talked about it with him, but obviously he had tuned her out.

"So, I'll be moving to campus next month," she said. The entire time she spoke to him she had gripped his upper arms. She paused, waiting for him to say something. Finally, he hugged her briefly, then put an arm's length between them.

"I'm happy for you, Katy, so happy for you. You'll be great doing that kind of thing," he said, thinking of how happy he was for himself.

She reached for his hands. "I know you were never going to choose me over her, Sam. I can see it in the way you look at her. So, you probably should go be with her and your kids."

She pushed up on her toes and kissed his cheek lightly, then left.

_xxxxx_

He walked back to Juliet's room slowly, knowing that now, more than ever, he needed to make things right with Quinn. Outside the door, he could hear giggling of all the girls. He knocked quietly and was told to come in.

Juliet was back in her bed in a fluffy robe, her casted arm wrapped in plastic while Jasmine sat on the bed with her, Quinn standing on one side, Kourtney on the other.

"I'm glad to see everyone's decent," he mumbled, not sure really what to say.

His daughters giggled at him, like they were prone to do. Quinn and Kourtney, as expected, glared at him, then went back to primping Juliet.

"How's your arm doing, Jules?" he asked.

"Sore, but I'm hangin' in there," Juliet replied, sounding so much like him his heart skipped a beat. "Where's Katy?"

He didn't miss Quinn's angry stare at him.

"She had to leave," he said simply. Change the subject. "I'm glad your arm's not bothering you too much…I bet you're ready to go home."

"So much!" she screeched, causing Kourtney to startle and lose her place on the braid she was doing with Juliet's hair.

"Jas, you wanna go get some lunch with me?" Sam asked her.

"Sure daddy."

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! I have the bestest idea!" Juliet cried out suddenly, all smiles. "Come stay at home with me!"

Sam's eyes opened wide. He hadn't expected that request.

"Uh, well Juliet, I, uh, well..." He cleared his throat. He knew his words were jumbled and not coming out right. "I'm not sure-"

"I think that's a splendid idea, Juliet," Quinn piped up, smiling, though Sam couldn't tell if her smile was welcoming or not. "I could use the extra help with the kids."

To say he was shocked would have been a gross understatement. The looks on Juliet and Jasmine's faces, though, were enough to make him agree.

"Okay, yeah, sure...that's a great idea. I'll just need to run by the apartment to get my clothes and iPad and..."

"Go daddy! I should be ready to go home after lunch. Get a move on!" Juliet said, laughing with her sister.

"Yeah, yeah I should go..." He walked over to where he had tossed his suit jacket the night before and slipped it on. After kissing his daughters goodbye, Quinn stopped him at the door.

"I'll just see you out," she murmured.

_Here it comes_, he thought. _The conditions._

Outside Juliet's room and down the hall a bit, Quinn stopped him. She cleared her throat before speaking. Just looking into his blue eyes nearly caused her to lose her nerve.

"I want to apologize for how I acted...with Katy..." she started.

"Quinn, it's-"

She cut in. "No, Adam had pissed me off, then she shows up, and it just turned into a giant mess. I thought maybe, since you'll be staying at the house again, maybe we could try to...try to talk about things. Like two grownups."

He smiled at her. Words he had been longing to hear. He ran a hand up her arm to her shoulder, squeezing, then pulling her to him gently. He kissed her on the top of her head.

"We've got a lot to talk about, don't we?" he whispered into her hair.

**A/N: As to questions in the reviews, no, Sam and Quinn have not formally divorced, only have seen their lawyers.**


	15. Chapter 15

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Sam went back to his apartment and first showered, then ate some lunch. Quinn texted him after he had been there for an hour that they were discharging Juliet to home. He packed up his clothing and other items he'd need, then wandered to Finn's apartment.

"Hey man...how were the kids last night? Thanks for watching them," Sam said when Finn opened the door, looking as though he had still been asleep.

"They were cool. How's little Jules?"

"Her arm was hurting her this morning, but she seems to be doing okay with it. Get this...Adam showed up at the hospital, bringing gifts, so I told Katy to come out there. She kept bugging me about wanting to tell me something-"

"Oh yeah, she's moving..."

"Right..." Sam gave Finn a confused look, then went on. "So yeah, there was kind of a big blowout in a waiting room...Quinn and her boytoy and me and Katy. Unbelievable. But yeah, she told me she was leaving, which I'm kinda happy about."

"Really?"

"With Jules breaking her arm and having surgery, Quinn really needed me and I was there for her. It was like...like a break through or something. I kissed her."

"Wow..." Finn mumbled, then smiled the cheesiest grin known to man. "I might've kissed Rach. Well, I might've fucked her a little bit, too."

Sam's jaw dropped. "What? Are you serious? Okay...wait...if you two were horizontal, then who was watching the kids?"

Finn appeared to be in deep thought. "Mara went home and the other three went to sleep...Ari slept in Juliet's bed."

Sam exhaled. _Thank god Joseph and Arielle hadn't been left alone._

"So, you and Rach? What's up with that?" Sam said, pushing his way into Finn's apartment.

After hearing Finn's version of what happened between him and Rachel (basically, as it had just been so long for both of them, they succumbed to their needs…exes with benefits), Sam returned to his apartment to get his stuff, then headed to the farm. He had a couple messages on his phone about the co-op meeting that night, which he had promptly forgotten once Juliet's bones fractured. He called to let them know not to expect him.

When Sam arrived at the farm, he found Rachel there in deep discussion with Quinn (he knew what they were talking about) and his twins on a couch in the family room watching TV. Joseph, Jasper, Arielle, and Andrew were all out in the pool, splashing and laughing and just having fun. He set his stuff down in the formal living room and made his way back to the family room. He plopped down on the couch, being careful of Juliet's arm, and put his arms around his two daughters who snuggled up against him.

"I bet you're happy to be home, Jules," he said.

"I am! They had a cake for me and everything!"

"I'm so happy she's home...I could hardly sleep last night!" The girls spoke over one another.

"I'm glad you're home too, daddy," Juliet said, burrowing into his side.

"Me too, girls," he said quietly.

"Why, look what the ol' cat drug in!" Rachel said from the opening to the family room. "It's Samuel Aaron Evans."

He looked over his shoulder at her, smiling like a cat ready to pounce. "Hey Rach. Anything new?"

She regarded him intensely, wondering if he knew about her and Finn.

"Just the usual. Taking care of my kids, running the theater..."

Sam hauled himself up off the couch and wandered close to her, close enough to whisper to her as he passed her on his way to the kitchen. "Gettin' a little _Finnish_ action..."

She slapped his arm and groaned, making him laugh out loud. There were really no secrets between the four of them...almost none.

He found Quinn in the kitchen working on a big batch of spaghetti.

"Smells good," he said, leaning against the jamb. "Don't you need a break though? I could get the boys to come in and put together the salad."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Done...and in the fridge."

He stood there, not moving and not speaking.

"Maybe you could, well, stir the sauce?"

Sam walked up to the stove and took the bamboo spoon in his hand. He looked down into the pot of sauce, inhaling the familiar scent. It seemed a bit lumpy, though.

"Wow, meatballs?" he asked Quinn, realizing what the lumps were.

She nodded from her place at the counter assembling the garlic cheese bread. "Rachel's recipe. Jules wanted spaghetti tonight."

"Good choice…smells delicious as always," he replied. He stirred some more and moved out of Quinn's way when she put the garlic bread in the oven.

"You know, maybe you should invite Finn over…" he started, smirking.

"Oh no! Not after what happened between those two! And in _our_ house, no less!" Quinn exclaimed, hands on her hips. "Rach is quite…ashamed…of what happened. And I know he's told you."

All Sam heard from Quinn's statement was _our house_. He gazed down into her eyes and a lopsided smile played at his lips.

"You smell like garlic, you know…" he said quietly.

"Yeah and what's…"

He cut her off with a quick kiss.

"…the point…" she finished, staring at her feet. Then, "Sam, you can't do that…"

He frowned. "Not in my own house?"

"Um, if one of the kids saw that, what kind of message would it give them? They know you date Katy or whatever you call it and…"

"No. She's leaving. That's what her important news was."

"Oh. Well. I could've sworn she was going to tell you she was pregnant."

Sam looked shocked. "God, no, Quinn! And not that it's any of your business but nothing at all like that has happened between her and me…_nothing_."

He turned the burner down to a low flame and took Quinn's garlicky hands.

Quinn's cheeks blushed with color at the touch of his hands on hers.

"Quinn, I...I'm-"

The back door slammed open and a group of laughing, soggy teenagers burst into the kitchen.

"Supper smells yummy, Aunt Quinn!" Arielle shouted as she streaked through the room, a blur of towel and shiny brunette hair. Sam noticed Joseph, standing in a slowly growing puddle staring at the giggling girl.

Joseph felt the stare and finally broke his gaze at Arielle and nodded to Sam. "'Sup?" He definitely noticed Sam holding Quinn's hands. The three boys took off upstairs to change in an unoccupied bathroom.

Sam turned back to Quinn, still holding her hands in his. He was rubbing the tops of he hands with his thumbs. He didn't know it, but her heart was racing.

"Uh, well, what I meant to say was-" He mumbled again.

"Mom!" Both Juliet and Jasmine yelled from the family room. Sam dropped Quinn's hands as they could hear the herd of kids' feet making their way through the dining room.

"Jasper shook his wet head all over me! And so did Andrew!" It was Jasmine and she was ticked off.

"Hey mom! Or dad! Anyone?" Juliet called to them, still in the family room.

Sam and Quinn looked at one another. "I'll handle the boys; you take care of Jules," he said to her, smiling. It was a trick they had learned years ago, splitting up the childcare duties when all hell broke loose.

Quinn took Sam's hands in hers again and squeezed them, then kissed him softly on his cheek, inhaling his familiar scent.

"Later, we talk," she whispered and scampered off to tend to Juliet.

Jasmine stepped up to her father, forgetting her troubles with the boys. She latched onto his elbow.

"Are you and mommy making up?" she asked him in a whisper.

He stirred the sauce once more, then pulled the pasta strainer from the cabinet, smiling the entire time.

"Maybe you could pull the salad bowls out for me?" he asked her, deliberately avoiding her inquiry about Quinn.

Quinn found Juliet sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Can you help me in the bathroom, mom?" she asked.

"Sure, c'mon..." Quinn told her. "How's the pain? Do you need some more Tylenol?"

They walked to the first floor powder room where no soggy teens were changing. They had decided it'd be best for Juliet to wear the least restrictive clothing as possible so she was in a t-shirt with the arms cut off and a skirt. Her casted arm was in a sling, so she was still getting used to moving around and doing things as simple as attending to her bathroom needs. The entire time Quinn helped her daughter in the bathroom she was smiling, almost giddy, and Juliet noticed.

"You're happy, mom," she remarked to Quinn. Quinn looked at herself in the mirror and realized she did look happy, maybe for the first time in months. Her cheeks were flushed pink, her eyes shined, and she smiled back at herself.

"I am, Juliet, I am..."

_xxxxx_

The rest of the evening was spent in a controlled type of chaos...supper, helping Juliet, until finally the kids had all collapsed. Finn had shown up after supper with a sheepish grin every time he locked eyes with Rachel. Sam had blown off the co-op meeting due to Juliet's accident and the fact he was exhausted. The evening was warm, and the adults found themselves in the pool, cooling off while the kids slept. Quinn and Rachel had changed into bikinis and were already floating in the cool water; Sam and Finn came out of the house in their swim trunks with a small cooler full of bottled beer. They slipped into the pool as quietly as possible, which meant Finn cannon-balled in, splashing both women.

"I swear, Finn Hudson, if you woke those kids up..." Rachel hissed at him, though smiling and taking her beer from him. They all waited for a few minutes and no lights came on, no kids came clamoring to the back deck to find out what the hell had happened.

The guys messed around for a bit while the girls paid them no attention, though both Quinn and Rachel cast a quick glance to them every couple minutes. They sipped on their cold beers in the moonlight, enjoying the relaxing nature of the pool.

"I gave Jules one of her stronger pain pills so she could sleep. I think her arm was bothering a little before bed," Quinn told Rachel.

"She's a tough girl...she's really handled it all well...just like you would have," Rachel said, clinking her bottle with Quinn's. "She's just like you, you know."

Quinn smiled. "I never thought I'd like having a Mini Me but, oh my god, how I love her! And Jasmine! I see myself in them all the time...and Sam too, of course."

"Yeah, our kids are perfect little clones of all of us," Rachel said wistfully.

They recalled some favorite memories: the time that one of the twins, as babies, pooped in the pool and freaked all the other kids out; Joseph hitting a home run, completely over the fence at a little league game (and Sam with a single tear running down his cheek), when Jasper finally said his first word at age 2-1/2 ("Doey" for his older brother), the time 10-year-old Arielle got lost on the farm after she chased a butterfly all the way to the tree line of the forest and Joseph helped Sam and Finn find her (because Joseph knew where she liked to hide amongst the trees)...the time they heard all the kids giggling in the next room and suddenly the kids streaked through the kitchen and back to the family room like they were on parade (the grownups had found all the naked kids laughing in a heap in the family room, clothes scattered everywhere).

"So many good times..." Quinn said, giggling and opening her second beer.

From across the pool, Sam watched Quinn and Rachel laughing in the moonlight. He had sunk down until only his head from the nose up appeared above the smooth plane of water. When Finn would move at the other end of the pool and the water would shift, Sam had the perfect view of Quinn's ass. She was wearing a baby blue bikini that clung to her curves like it was a second skin. Without a second thought, he took in the deepest breath possible and dunked himself to the depth of the pool.

He swam stealthily toward Quinn's legs, his eyes open and watching her tiny toes, supple calves, and perfect thighs. He pulled his body through the water, up to her body, then swooshed up against her back side.

She squealed and turned around as he shook the water from his face and hair. She was laughing, then turned back to Rachel to say _can you believe that?_ Sam put his hands on her hips and pulled her back against him.

Rachel, sensing something between Sam and Quinn, floated off toward Finn. She winked at Quinn and smiled before finding Finn and opening another beer.

Quinn would not admit it to Sam at that moment - maybe later - but the surprise of his hands under water, running up her legs to her butt and to her hips, the feeling of his lean muscular body so close to hers, made her low belly fire up and do flip-flops. And now, now he was pulling her against him again, more insistently...she could feel _all_ parts of him against her. His breath from behind her ear sent shivers from her head to toe.

"You cold?" he asked from behind her, his voice sultry and deep. His fingers were gripping her hip bones, over her tattoos of all their initials (she had added _JEE 12/25/13_ under the original tattoos, then _JGE 8/1/19_ and _JGE 8/1/19_ on the opposite side). She felt him shiver too, then his lips touched her goose-bumpy skin of her shoulder. She turned around quickly to face him.

His cheeks and ears were flushed, as they did when he was either embarrassed or turned on. His hair was wet and spiky and rivulets of water ran down his face. She watched one drop on his eyelash for what seemed like forever. His lips were parted, awaiting her response. She placed her hands on his shoulders gently and pushed herself back a little; she could feel his erection pushing at her and if that kept happening she wouldn't be able to stop herself from wrapping her legs around his waist and letting him take her in the pool.

Even though she put some space between them, he moved in close to her again, to whisper to her, "It's been so long, Q..."

His hands on her hips slipped around her waist to her back, pulling her to him. She gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed himself as close as he could to her and from a distance they might have looked like one body, his forehead resting on her shoulder, her face against his neck.

"I've missed you so...so much..." he whispered against her skin. Her fingers tangled at the ends of his hair.

After a moment of just holding one another, she replied, "I've missed me and you."

"Whatever I did to make you mad at me, I'm so sorry, Quinn...I've been a fool and I've really screwed up. Please love me again," Sam mumbled into her shoulder. He looked up at her then, a tear streaking down his cheek.

Quinn rested her forehead against Sam's, holding onto him for dear life.

"I've never stopped loving you…I will _never_ stop loving you, Samuel Evans," she said, her voice weepy. "We need to talk though."

"I know, I know there's a lot that needs to get out, but I just can't…I just can't be without you anymore…I've never been so lonely, Q," he told her.

She pushed herself against him and kissed him urgently, tasting pool water on his lips. Her breasts and tummy were heaving against his body, her hands on the sides of his face. She felt his hand move to cup her breast, rubbing her nipple with his thumb. Her tongue was tasting his as she felt the sparks from his touch on her breast shoot to her groin. His other hand slipped down her side to the back of her thigh, lifting her leg up and around his hip as he took a step forward and pressed his cock against her bikini bottoms. She couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips. She traced a finger over his ear.

"This can't happen here," she whispered, nodding her head in the direction of Finn and Rachel who were also in deep discussion in their own corner of the pool.

He groaned and pushed against her once more.

"Inside then. Where we belong," Sam said, disentangling himself from her, taking her hand to lead her into the house.


	16. Chapter 16

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

They slid out of the pool quietly, Sam wrapped Quinn in a towel, then they tiptoed upstairs to their master suite. Over the years, they had updated the décor, but the bed was still the same from when they had moved in years previously. Sam locked the door quietly, then joined Quinn next to the bed.

Wasting no more time, he untied her bikini top and pulled it from her. As soon as her breasts were free, his mouth and hands were on her hard pink nipples…licking, pinching, sucking. Quinn wiggled herself from her bottoms, then pushed at his trunks.

"I swear, Sam, if you touch me _there_ right now, I'll come…" she said suddenly.

He stopped nibbling at her breast, looking at her, then slid his middle finger from the wet entrance of her pussy upward to her clit, circled it once, and she was shuddering against his finger.

"Oh my god…" he muttered, then mashed his mouth to hers.

He wanted nothing more than to be in her at that moment; she wanted him just as badly. For an awkward moment, they both scrambled to get into position on their bed but were out of rhythm.

Finally, she laughed a bit, propping herself against the pillows. "It has been awhile…"

He slowed down and lay over her, between her legs, pressing his belly against hers.

"I've waited for you all this time, Q, I promise you…there's been no one else…" he said softly. He took a bit of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "There's been no one for me either…"

He gazed at her, then moved down slowly for a kiss.

"I love you, Quinn…" His hips began moving against her slowly and gently at first, then picking up in intensity.

Quinn drew up her knees and tilted her hips up toward him. He was rock-hard at this point. He'd press the very tip of his penis into her but then slide himself upward over her clitoris and then back down, coating his cock with her fluids and spreading them around. She was moving in rhythm with him, wanting that pressure and wetness on her clit. Finally, the teasing was too much and she gripped his ass and pushed him into her. He gasped as she arched her back and moaned. Once all the way inside her, he stopped moving and just soaked up the feeling of being with her again. She whimpered a bit and grinded against his body, wanting movement.

He began thrusting slowly; she could feel the ridge of the head of his cock entering her and pulling from her. Sometimes, he'd pull all the way from her and push against her clit, sliding back into her. She was touching every part of his body that she could reach, wanting the feel of his warm skin on her palms.

His thrusting increased; sweat dripped from his forehead to hers. Their tongues tangled together, sometimes nipping at one another, sometimes sucking. A low growl emitted from Sam, the thrusting pulsed in and out of her strongly until he shivered and grunted her name, his face pressed against her shoulder. He came hard and long inside her. When he finally became soft, he kissed her softly once more, then moved off of her. They both were breathing heavily…she reached for his hand.

"That was absolutely heavenly…" she gushed.

He chuckled. "Out of this world, definitely."

She rolled on her side, facing him. "I've missed this closeness…what happened to it?"

He rolled to face her. "I think maybe the kids? I'm not blaming them, but you have to admit our family changed in a big way with the twins. Then, we were so busy with making the farm productive and you finishing school…"

"I've wondered if I should've just put school off…"

"No, I didn't mean it that way, Q," he said, reaching out to stroke her hair, down to her arm. "We just got…busy…and not like this."

They both laughed. She trailed a finger down his chest to his bellybutton. There was a question bothering her, but she wasn't quite ready to ask him yet. Instead, she pushed him onto his back and straddled him.

"Ready to get busy again?" she asked as sexily as she could muster.

He ran his hands up her thighs to her hips, closing his eyes and sucking in his lips. She was rubbing her pussy on his cock, between her slickened folds. She would spend time rocking on the head of his cock, rubbing her clit over the ridge, then she'd slide down his shaft. She'd move quickly back up and gyrate on his head again. Finally, while getting herself off on the tip of his penis, he took control and pushed up into her.

"Oh…" she sighed. "God, Sam."

His hips responded to hers, thrusting into her, her moving the way she needed to. Her hands roamed over his torso, stopping on his nipples. She gently pinched both of them, then rubbed them with her open palms. He groaned and sat up partway, wrapping his arms around her hips.

"I'm coming, Q…" he grunted into her mouth.

She gripped his shoulders, riding him as he orgasmed. Her climax came quickly thereafter, leaving her twitching on his cock. Again, they both slowly relaxed, calming their breathing, until he was too soft to stay in her. He lay back, and she collapsed on top of him.

"It has always been the best with you," she whispered.

He stroked her hair, cupping her cheek. "We'll work things out, right?"

She smiled and kissed him. "Absolutely."

He smiled up at her.

_xxxxx_

The next morning, Sam woke up in the downstairs guest bedroom. He had slipped downstairs in the predawn hours so the kids wouldn't find him in bed with Quinn. They wanted the kids to know they had worked out their differences first. Finn and Andrew were sprawled out on couches in the family room; Arielle had spent the night in the twins' bedroom. Rachel had the upstairs guestroom.

Quinn was the first awake and starting breakfast in the kitchen when Sam wandered in.

He moved up behind Quinn, wrapping his arms around her middle and nuzzled her neck. She giggled at his touch and soft breath on her skin.

"Good morning," he said softly.

"Good morning," she replied, shyly.

"Last night was the best, Quinn...I haven't been that happy in a very long time..."

She turned to face him, forgetting the pancakes on the griddle for a moment. "Me either, Sam." She was on her tiptoes kissing him when they heard another presence join them in the kitchen.

"What's for eat?" Jasper asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes and peering into the refrigerator. "To eat."

"Pancakes and sausage, young man," Sam answered. "Pull out the OJ for me, son."

Quinn reached into the proper cabinet and pulled out a juice glass. She took the orange juice from Jasper who looked at one parent, then the other. She poured Sam his orange juice.

"You too, Jasp?" she asked him.

"Uh, yeah..." She retrieved another glass and poured his juice for him.

"Nice smile, mom," he said, taking his juice from her. "Thanks."

Quinn turned to flip the pancakes, and Sam heard tittering coming down the staircase. Joseph and Arielle entered the kitchen, their arms around each other, deep in some private conversation, giggling and smiling. Sam had an intuitive feeling about them and made a mental note to have a talk with Joseph alone later. They had the appearance of intimacy between them, reminding him a lot of himself and Quinn. The kids said a giggly good morning to Sam and Quinn, poured their own drinks, and headed to the family room to wait on pancakes.

"I'll start the sausage," Sam said, reaching for the cast iron skillet.

"Actually, I don't mind doing that if maybe you could check on Jules for me?" Quinn asked. He kissed her again and headed upstairs. He could hear the twins as he walked down the hallway to Juliet's room.

"Just pull it over my head, Jas!"

He knocked, then entered their room.

"Daddy!" Juliet screeched, grabbing at whatever was closest (a fuzzy pillow) to cover her chest.

"Sorry!" He covered his eyes. "Is everything okay in here?"

"I'm helping Jules get this shirt on, but she's freakin' out on me," Jasmine said, standing next to Juliet, her hip jutted out. She added an eye-roll for effect. "She is being such a _diva_!"

"I am not!" Juliet responded.

"Girls! What does your mother always tell you?"

They looked at one another, then cast their eyes downward.

"_Behave like ladies_," they both mumbled together. Sam had to fight smiling at their identical pouts.

"And you know what I say?" he asked them. They looked up at him, interested. "_Be friends_."

They looked at each other and giggled.

"Now, Jules, do you want some help with that shirt?" Sam asked.

She blushed, just like him. "Daddy, I don't have anything on..."

"It's okay, Juliet, I won't look and besides I've seen it all already...remember, you two were babies at one time," he said, crossing over to Jasmine and taking the t-shirt from her. Making a huge point not to look at his daughter, he somehow managed to get her casted arm through the sleeve hole, then the shirt over her head.

"See, Jasmine, it was easy!" Juliet spouted. "I think I need a pill."

"That's what I was doing, dad, but she wouldn't sit still," Jasmine told Sam after her sister had left the room. He picked her up and rocked her like she was a baby, making her laugh and squirm.

"I know, Jas...just growing pains..."

"What's that? Does it hurt?" she asked suddenly serious.

"Well, physically not really. For moms and dad, yeah, hurts in their heart sometimes," he mused. "Thanks for being a good friend to your sister, even though her attitude is a bit _diva_ right now." He set her down on her feet and took her hand. "Pancakes sound good?"

She squealed in happiness and ran from the room.

_xxxxx_

After breakfast, Finn left with Andrew, and Quinn ran over to the daycare to check in there. She had not had a chance all weekend to go over billing and other issues so she felt behind on her duties. She also wanted to see Kourtney. Sam and Rachel stayed at the house, watching the kids swim. For awhile, Sam swam with the kids, helping Juliet keep her cast dry, wrestling with his sons. Rachel was working on her tan on one of the chaise lounges. Sam climbed out of the pool and took the lounge next to Rachel after setting up Juliet in her favorite chair in the shade. Sam relaxed on his back, his eyes nearly all the way closed. He watched Joseph and Arielle interact in the pool, thinking he wasn't watching and Rachel was lying on her belly so she couldn't see them.

He watched Joseph sneak up to Arielle under the water, sliding up her body much like he had done with Quinn. Arielle would giggle, pretending she was scared, then Joseph would haul her up in his arms, her facing him, kiss her quickly, then cradle her and toss her into the water. To retaliate, Arielle would then swim up to Joseph, splashing water at him, and Sam was pretty sure that when she got close enough to Joseph she wrapped her legs around his waist. They'd share another kiss, this one a bit longer, then separate. He'd go and irritate Jasmine for a bit, then it'd start all over again between him and Arielle.

"Yo, Rach," Sam said quietly.

"Mmm?"

"It's so obvious," Sam said.

She turned her head to look at him. "What's so obvious?"

"Our kids…I think they're, uh, _together_," Sam whispered.

"Well, duh, they're dating! What do you mean to-…" she started. Her eyes got huge and her mouth shaped an O. "Oh god, Finn cannot know!"

Sam mulled this over. Finn probably would go ballistic.

"I'm going to have another talk with Joseph, about _discretion_," Sam told Rachel. He had to smile to himself, recalling his teenage years living at Quinn's house and how his father would always growl that word to him.

Rachel had flopped over on her back.

"I suppose I need to talk to Ari about birth control..."

Sam glanced over at Rachel in shock. He decided he'd be talking to Joseph that very day.

"So, about you and Finn..."

"Ugh...I don't even want to hear his name!"

Sam decided not to talk anymore and turned his attention back to the pool.

Arielle walked up the steps from the pool, Joseph's eyes following her back side. He ascended the steps next and followed her to the opposite side of the pool from Sam and Rachel. They chose side-by-side lounges and set themselves up to dry off in the sun. Sam watched Joseph's hand surreptitiously find Arielle's between their lounge chairs, both of them smiling.

_xxxxx_

Quinn just finished reading a story to the six-year-old group of kids at the daycare. She missed that aspect of providing childcare, the actual hands-on aspect of working with the kids. She felt they kept her young, albeit worn out. Most days, she spent in her office there, going over billing the families, funds received, scheduling conflicts, ordering new equipment, and keeping an eye on daycare trends, locally and nationally. She had attended her share of conventions in the past decade, both as a guest and as a presenter.

Now, she sat at her computer, a goofy smile plastered on her face as she recalled the events of the night before…how Sam slid up against her in the pool, peeled her bikini off and made her come with the touch of his finger, having him in her bed again.

"And don't you look like a love-struck teenager!" Kourtney said, popping her head into Quinn's office. "Nice blush! What'd Adam do?"

Quinn blinked and looked at Kourtney, then laughed.

"Nothing…he did nothing!" Quinn replied, still smiling.

Kourtney looked confused. "Wait…did you and Sam?"

Quinn kept smiling but said nothing.

"I know that smile, Quinn Evans!" Kourtney jumped up and down a little bit, clapping. "You got you some!"

Quinn snorted, then shushed her. She cleared her throat.

"We're…talking," she said finally.

Kourtney crossed the office to Quinn and hugged her.

"You've always been such a great cousin-in-law, Quinn. You're definitely my favorite! And you and Sam deserve happiness, the kind of happiness that only you two can give each other!" Kourtney was exuberant.

Quinn laughed at the ongoing joke, of who was whose favorite cousin.

"He does make me happy, though. I can't figure out why I lost sight of that," she said to Kourtney who was heading back to the front desk.

"You know, people grow up and grow apart. The key is growing up and growing together."

Quinn smiled at those wise words. She whispered _thank you_ and went back to staring at numbers but thinking of Sam.

_xxxxx_

Rachel and Arielle had left soon after Sam's brief conversation with Rachel about their two kids. Quinn had returned from the daycare, so Sam took that opportunity to get Joseph away from the house to pick his brain.

"I need to go check the back eighty, Joe, why don't you come help me?" Sam asked him nonchalantly.

Joseph eyed his father warily.

"Why?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm checking for tree stumps and roots out there along the tree line. I need your muscle."

Joseph smiled, flexing his biceps. Sam knew he had him then.

"Sure, pops...when?"

"After lunch..."

Lunch was spent together as a family. The happiness radiating from Sam and Quinn rubbed off on their kids and they were all in fantastic moods. Quinn served them watermelon as dessert, then returned to the kitchen. She returned with a black Sharpie pen.

"Someone has a cast that needs to be signed," she said, popping the lid off.

"Oh! Me first! Me first!" Jasmine hollered. Quinn handed her the pen.

Jasmine signed Juliet's cast with a heartfelt _3 U! Jas_. Her brothers signed it next, _broken bonez rule Joey_ and _luv ya sis Jasp_. On the inside of Juliet's wrist, Quinn wrote _I am always there 4 u Love Mom_. Her guilt was still lingering about not being at her daughter's side when she was taken to the hospital. Sam took the marker and under Quinn's inscription wrote _U R sooo my kid! Love ya Dad_. Juliet was thrilled with her new signatures. She was also becoming more familiar with maneuvering with the cast on her arm and needed less help from her parents and Jasmine and less pain medication. The only thing bothering her was starting third grade in a month with the cast still on.

Once lunch was done, Quinn enlisted Jasper and Jasmine to help her clean up while Juliet got to lay on the couch and Sam and Joseph were getting ready to take the farm truck to the far reaches of their land.

Joseph was dressed casually in a tank top, basketball shorts, and flip-flops. Sam told him to change into work clothes...blue jeans, a short-sleeved work shirt, boots, and a ball cap. Sam met up with Quinn in the kitchen while the kids were all occupied.

"I need to have a talk with Joey," he said under his breath. She looked at him, confused. "It seems that he and Arielle are getting quite close, possibly closer than what they did when they ran off." He raised his eyebrows, and she picked up on his message.

"Oh...how do you know?"

"I can just tell; he's my firstborn. Plus, he has the same swagger I did when we did it the first time," Sam said, trying to stifle a chuckle. "Anyway, I need to find out how far involved they are and make sure he understands the consequences."

"Um, yeah," Quinn said, thinking. "What about Finn and Rach? Do you think they know?"

"I mentioned it to Rachel earlier today and she said she'd need to have a talk with Arielle about birth control," Sam said quietly, watching Quinn's eyes get huge.

"Arielle's 16...haven't they had that talk yet?" Quinn wondered aloud. She knew, though, from her trip with Rachel to New York City, that Rachel was worried that she and Arielle weren't as close as they needed to be.

Sam shrugged and plucked an apple from a bowl on the island. "I guess not. I'm having that talk with Joe again today, though. I'll keep you posted."

He gave her an apple-tinted kiss and brief hug, then headed out back to pull the truck out of the barn. Joseph bounded down the staircase and into the kitchen, dressed to work with his father. He grabbed an apple too and kissed his mom quickly on the cheek and was out the door. She watched him run out to meet Sam, looking so much like a young Sam, and wondered how in the world he had grown into a young man right in front of her.

**A/N: Just a gentle reminder, readers, I do have a family and full-time job...I update when I'm able, usually when I'm a couple chapters ahead. I do the best I can. If this was a paying gig, I'd make more of an effort to update more quickly, but, since it's not, I do what I can. Family and real work have to come first, folks. **


	17. Chapter 17

**PARADISE IMPERFECT**

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee (except a beach towel and Season 2 DVD). I own nothing related to any of the songs I use (except for an admiration of the tune).**

Joseph bounded out to the waiting pickup and climbed into the passenger's side. He immediately reached for the radio dial, but Sam stopped him.

"I don't feel like music today, son," Sam said. Joseph looked shocked.

"You and mom _always_ want to hear music!"

"That's true...when we don't have things to talk about," Sam replied, looking over at Joseph. Sam turned the truck to the drive down the field, heading toward the wooded edge. He went over a couple small hills, bumping along, noticing that Joseph was stealing glances at him, trying to figure out what was really going on.

Sam stopped at the wood's edge and turned the truck's engine off. He climbed out of the truck, as did Joseph, and they headed to the bed. Even though Joseph had been his son for 15-1/2 years, Sam was still as nervous as hell about this conversation. Even more nervous than when he had the puberty/kind of sex talk with Joseph.

"I'll handle the weeds; you just come along," Sam said, pulling the weed whacker from the bed of the truck. Joseph looked thoroughly confused now.

"I thought we were looking for tree stumps or somethin'?"

"Yeah, you look for those...we'll bring the winch back out if we need to," Sam said, firing up the weed whacker. He walked to the tree line, went a few feet taking down weeds, then turned off the tool. He sat down on a fallen log. Joseph looked at him like he was insane.

"Grab a couple…uh, drinks…from the cooler, Joe," Sam said. "Then come sit down. We'll have to come back and haul this off...might be able to use it for firewood."

Joseph opened the cooler in the bed of the truck; Sam usually brought bottled water when they worked but Joseph found a six-pack of beer. He took two and came over to sit down next to his father warily. He handed Sam a cold beer.

"So, anything new you'd like to share, Joseph?" Sam asked him, popping open his can.

Joseph was silent, then opened his can. They both took long swigs.

"Between you and Arielle?" Sam finally asked.

Joseph shrugged. "Nope…nothin' new."

Sam glanced at Joseph. "You sure there isn't anything you want to, uh, tell me?"

Joseph rolled his eyes and sighed. "I got her to stop smoking pot, okay? We haven't done any of that since…since you found out…"

Sam was a bit surprised by this admission but shook it off.

"I just noticed that you and Arielle seem a little…closer. You know, you can talk to me…I'm not going to be angry or anything. I just remember what it was like to be your age and with your mom and…"

"Oh god, please no sex talks dad!"

"Joseph, you have been using protection, right? We talked about condoms…"

"Yes dad!"

"So, you two have, uh, done it?"

Joseph sighed heavily. "Yeah," he muttered quietly, swigging on the beer. Joseph briefly recalled the couple times he and Arielle christened his bed over the weekend. "Are you gonna tell mom?"

Now Sam sighed. "I dunno, son…you two just need to be careful, very careful…"

"Yeah, yeah, we totally are…"

"Did you know Arielle isn't on birth control?"

"What? How do you know that?" Joseph looked suddenly gray and in shock.

"I overheard Rach talking about it to your mom…so, about condoms…you've been using them?"

Joseph swallowed thickly. He knew the truth…no, he hadn't been using protection. Arielle had told him she was on the pill.

"Well, uh, dad," Joseph cleared his throat. "Um…well, uh, we haven't, uh…"

"Shit…" Sam hissed. He turned to Joseph. "I'm not mad, Joey, I'm just, well, concerned."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize. Just hope like hell nothing has happened. I was 17, almost 18, when you were born. The only way me and your mom made it was the help of your grandparents and great-grandparents. It's not easy, Joseph."

Joseph looked like he was going to be sick.

"Remember when we brought your sisters home? It wasn't all that easy and that was me and your mom with years of experience," Sam went on. "I'm not saying I think you'd be a lousy dad, just you're so damn young."

Joseph's face was scrunched in thought. "I love her, dad, and she loves me so what happens, happens." He got up and strode off further into the trees. The thought of being a dad made him nauseous.

Sam chuckled a bit, got up, and followed him. "Joseph, what you think is love now is mostly just lust and hormones..."

Joseph stopped and turned to face him. "Like with you and mom, then? When you were in high school and living together and _married_? Was that love or lust, dad?"

Sam put his hands on his hips. "To be honest, Joe, a lot of it was lust...our circumstances were way different than you and Arielle, though...remember, my family was _homeless_ at the time...your mother helped us out a lot then. Had it not been for your mother and your grandmother who knows what would've happened with me and your uncle Stevie and aunt Stace. It seems to me that you and Arielle get off smoking pot and not doing a whole hell of a lot."

Joseph stared at Sam, his cheeks flushed.

"I grew to love your mother, Joseph. It wasn't just love at first sight...it was a lot of things that happened between us that made me love her. And, as you can probably see now, things change over time. Your mother and I aren't perfect. We've made our share of mistakes. When it came to starting a family, though, we tried to make good decisions..."

Joseph was furious. "Like mom getting knocked up when she was 15?"

Sam hated himself for what he did next. He slapped Joseph hard across the face.

"Don't ever let me hear you say something so hateful about your mother again," Sam said in a low growl. "What happened to your mom was rape, Joseph. Nothing more, nothing less. And you have no idea what she had to go through with that...what she _still_ deals with..."

Joseph had a hand up to his stinging cheek, now marked with a red palm print. The slap had hurt him deeply; tears fell onto his cheeks. He sniffed and wiped the tears away quickly. Now, Sam felt nauseous.

"Can I show you something then?" he asked Sam. Joseph turned and walked farther into the woods. Sam followed his son to a clearing where the sun trickled down through the tall oaks in full bloom. Joseph headed to one particularly old tree, its branches heavy and laden with full green leaves. At the trunk, Joseph stopped.

"This is Ari's favorite spot, did ya know that? When she got lost chasing the butterfly, she came here...and I knew where to find her. The next day, I came out here with your pocket knife and did this..." Joseph walked to the other side of the tree and showed Sam the initials: _JE + AH_. "I knew even then that I loved her." He traced his finger over the carving.

"That's nice, Joe," Sam said quietly.

"Ari will come here to sit in the shade and read, right under our initials, 'cause we've always known...me and her would be together," Joseph explained to him. "Her dad is kinda crazy, though, so we kept it a secret."

Sam chuckled despite himself. He slung his arm over Joseph's shoulders.

"I'm not telling you that you two can't see one another...I kinda wished you would've waited before jumping into an adult relationship. But, I'll tell you what Grampa told me ages ago, if you're going to be doing adult things with Arielle then you need to behave like an adult...and be responsible."

"With Ari?"

"Yeah, you and Arielle..." Joseph looked at him confused. Sam laughed, understanding his confusion. "Grampa told me if _I_ was going to be doing grownup things with _Quinn_..."

Joseph smiled. "I get it, dad, and I will be...you know, responsible."

Sam ruffled his son's hair. "You look so much better with blonde hair."

"I know...Ari thought it'd be cool," Joseph said, running his hand through his blonde locks. They began walking back to the truck.

"Remember, Joseph, you can come to me anytime...with questions or whatever...I'm always here for you, son," Sam said, nudging Joseph's arm. "And don't tell your mom about the beer."

_xxxxx_

While Sam had his talk with Joseph, Quinn sat by the pool watching the kids swim. Juliet was having a rough time, not being able to go in too far because of the cast and was missing out on the fun. Quinn had let Jasper invite Maragold over, and she loved watching her youngest son woo this girl. Sometimes, he'd go pick up Juliet and carry her around the pool so she wouldn't have to just sit on the step, her broken arm propped up on the pool deck on a towel. Maragold got along well with the twins, styling their hair, painting their nails, talking about the newest coolest things out there. Her kids were all cute...she thought they were the best, of course...but sitting there in the shade, watching the three youngest play and knowing Sam was off having a very grownup discussion with her oldest, it suddenly made her long for the days when the kids were babies.

"What am I thinking?" she muttered to herself, sipping a lemonade.

They'd made it through babyhood with all four, toddlerhood, the god-awful terrible 2's, 3's and sometimes 4's, sending them off to school, all those nights of homework, all the activities to follow and still follow, and now Joseph close to graduating with a serious girlfriend, Jasper coming along quite fine with his speech and new friend in Maragold, and her two girls becoming wonderful young ladies. She was actually anxious about the first time one of her daughters brought home a boy...how Sam and her two older brothers would react.

Quinn groaned. A beach ball flew up from the pool at her, and she swatted it back to the kids. She let her mind wander to those early days with each of the kids, how it felt to hold their tiny bodies in her arms, life created by her and Sam. It was nearly overwhelming at times, not the amount of care they all needed, but how much she loved each of them. And how much she'd love Sam even more, watching him rock the babies or change a diaper or sling a diaper bag over his shoulder with a baby on a hip and holding another one's hand, a smile on his face the whole time. She heard Jasmine yell at Jasper about splashing her. Quinn then remembered all the sleepless nights, the endless rocking and walking a colicky child, the falls and scrapes and broken bones, the fighting amongst the kids, and now the hard part of watching them date and then get their hearts broken, sending them out on their own, letting them make their own mistakes without stepping in to help...No, that part of her life was over. She needed to focus on preparing her little birds to leave the nest. Her brow furrowed in thought. _What am I forgetting?_ she thought. The beach ball bounced out of the pool again to the other side of the pool, so she got up to retrieve it and then decided to hop in and cool off with the kids.

_xxxxx_

The evening flew by in a flash, it seemed. Sam and Joseph returned from the fields. Sam worked in his office until suppertime, catching up on what he was behind on for the farm. Quinn worked in her office on the daycare business needs. Juliet napped while Joseph, Jasper, and Jasmine relaxed in the family room in front of the TV. Maragold had left for home. In a few days, she and Jasper were attending a summer choir camp together before school started again. She told Sam and Quinn that she needed to get ready for camp. Quinn had smiled while Sam snuck a glance at Quinn. Once Maragold was out of earshot, he asked, "Get ready _now_? They have like a week!"

Quinn gently put her hand on Sam's arm. "Give your daughters a couple years, Sam, and you'll understand."

He figured it had something to do with boys, but he was just not ready to even contemplate his daughters dating. Especially not after the conversation with Joseph earlier that day.

Sam cooked on the grill that night, and they ate _al fresco_. Once the kids fell asleep, Quinn intended to talk to Sam, about them reuniting, but their conversation wound up in bed.

As it turned out, with the hectic pace of their family and businesses, most nights they pushed talking aside and headed straight to any available flat surface, and sometimes not flat (standing in the shower in the guestroom Sam occupied).

Sam had been back home for a week when, after a round of passionate lovemaking, Quinn broached the subject finally. His arm was around her as they lay in their bed, her head in the crook of his arm, her fingers running through the blonde hair on his chest and over each nipple, watching his chest rise and fall.

"Do you think the kids know?" she asked him quietly.

"Mmm…know what?"

"That me and you are back together…"

He put his hand over hers. "We're back together? Officially?"

"Are we, Sam?" she asked. "Whatever attracted you to Katy, is that going to happen again?"

He gripped her hand tightly. He knew they were going to have to tackle their issues eventually. He rolled to face her. He stared at her for a moment, running his free hand over her hair.

"Quinn…I never wanted to go…I felt like you…you were pushing me away…like you didn't want me here anymore…it just got to the point where I didn't know what to say to you…it was all my fault, Q, and I apologize for all of it, everything I put you and the kids through," he said, kissing her softly at the end of his declaration. "No, that will never happen again, not ever again."

"I apologize too, Sam. I did push you away. I know I did. Things were so busy for so long…the farm, my school and daycare, the kids…the fact that I'm getting older…"

"Oh Quinn! You're not old! I'm not old!"

"Sam…it just hit me when Joey had his birthday, our sixteenth anniversary…time is flying by…I thought if I…" Tears slipped down her face. "I thought if I pushed you away…it'd make time slow down. Then, you met Katy and liked her and I felt older than ever…"

"Oh god, Q, Katy never meant anything to me! Yeah, she's young and seemed interested in me and you just didn't seem to care anymore…that was no excuse, though, for me to leave our home and treat you so badly. I'm so sorry for that, Quinn."

"I should've never let Adam be more than a friend. He was my friend...but he wanted more than that...and you were gone...and it just seemed right," Quinn said quietly.

Sam swallowed. "Did you...did he ever..."

"Nothing happened between us, Sam. I-I just couldn't picture myself with anyone besides you..."

He pulled her to him, their heartbeats together. He caressed her back and she let him hold her.

"Have you heard from him since Jules was in the hospital?" Sam asked.

Quinn shook her head _no_. "No texts or calls...nothing."

"Then, there are no outside distractions now...it's me and you again...and we'll work through this. I never meant for you to feel...unwanted, Quinn. I'll always want you, as long as you want me."

They fell asleep together. He didn't return to the guestroom that night. The next day, he moved his belongings back into his and Quinn's bedroom. At breakfast, they told their children that they were working things out and Sam was back home to stay.


End file.
